Importance of social investing rises

Socially responsible investing is important for many workplace pension fund trustees, it has been revealed.

The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance (UKSIF) association said in a new report out yesterday that two in three believe that the Responsible Investment policy of their scheme should tie in with their firm’s own corporate and social responsibility policies.

UKSIF also ranked and rated British pension schemes for their ESG (environmental, social, governance) scores - and found that three-quarters have improved on this issue in the past two years.

The new report comes as the UK’s first ethical investment fund, the F&C Stewardship Growth Fund, celebrates its 25th anniversary.

A study released earlier this week by Friends Provident, an insurer, also showed that a majority of people believe that socially responsible investing has become more important since 1984.

Two in three also said that firms should be sure to consider ethical issues in their corporate choices.

Michael Deakin, chair of the UKSIF Sustainable Pensions Advisory Board, said: ’Given all the challenges faced by pension fund trustees over the last two years, I find the clear signs of progress made on implementing Responsible Investment policies very encouraging.

’More funds now have a Responsible Investment policy, and more significantly, of those funds that completed both the 2007 and 2009 surveys more than half have achieved a higher ranking this year.’ADNFCR-2318-ID-19202770-ADNFCR