Alexandra - Wavelength Paddling Magazine

Green Investing
Not everybody agrees with the politics
of big business. But that doesn’t
mean you have to avoid investing altogether.
Instead, consider playing
financial markets through socalled
“ethical” mutual funds.
These funds invest your money
only in companies that fit their
standards for being ethically, environmentally
or socially responsible.
Ethical funds operate in the same manner
as conventional funds, with one important
difference: they carefully screen
the companies in which they invest to ensure
they meet certain ethical criteria. For
example, the screening process can be
designed to rule out investments in companies
that distribute alcohol and tobacco
products, engage in harmful environmental
activities, make products that are hazardous
to health, do business in countries
with repressive political regimes or racial
oppression or that have a record of poor
relations with their workers.
The screening process can be comprehensive.
It may involve sifting through
corporate holdings to ensure the company
and its subsidiaries aren’t engaged in
questionable practices, determining
where and how the company does business,
sorting through its lists of customers
and monitoring business practices. For
an individual investor, this would be extremely
difficult or even impossible.
Beyond the screening process, ethical
funds generally offer all the benefits of
other funds. These include professional in-
2001 FEBRUARY • MARCH WaveLength
Chris Bowman
vestment management, ease of investing,
and investment diversification, depending
on the fund’s objectives.
You don’t have to sacrifice investment
returns by investing in
ethical funds; the top performers
are often right up there with the
best conventional funds. However,
you should be aware that
the investment styles of these
funds can range from conservative
to aggressive—a factor that can affect
the risks of investing in a particular fund.
As with all mutual funds, this should play
a part in your investment decision.
There are a number of ethical funds
available. Not all use the same standards
to make investment decisions, so you
should determine their ethical criteria by
examining fund literature.
For example, in Canada, the Investors
Summa Fund is an ethical fund that invests
primarily in Canadian companies
that are socially responsible, and have
adapted progressive standards and practices
illustrative of an awareness towards
economic, social and environmental issues.
The fund avoids investments in companies
that manufacture or distribute alcohol
or tobacco products, companies that
manufacture weapons and those involved
in the gambling industry. The fund also
attempts to avoid companies with poor
pollution control and environmental
records and those that support activities
of repressive political regimes. Here is a
brief summary of some of the funds available
to you in Canada.
→
If you’re planning a paddling trip near
Northern Vancouver Island or the
Central Coast, RENT from us.
ODYSSEY KAYAKING
PORT HARDY
Ph: 250-902-0565
email: odyssey@capescott.net
http://www.island.net/~odysseyk/
http://www.capescott.net/~odyssey/
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