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SRI PROFESSIONALS SURVEY: MAJORITY OF RETAIL, INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS INTERESTED IN “FOSSIL FUEL-FREE PORTFOLIOS”
63 Percent of SRI Professionals Expect Climate-Prompted Fossil Fuel Divestment in Next 10 Years
NEW YORK CITY AND COLORADO SPRINGS – May 16, 2013 – Over half of sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investment industry professionals say that retail investors (65 percent) and institutional investors (53 percent) are currently expressing interest in fossil fuel-free portfolios in the face of growing signs of climate change, according to First Affirmative Financial Network’s Fossil Fuels Divestment Survey.
Released in anticipation of the 24th annual SRI Conference (http://www.SRIconference.com) October 28-30, 2013 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the online survey was conducted by First Affirmative Financial Network between April 22 and May 8, 2013. More than 2,000 SRI industry professionals were asked to weigh-in on 12 questions regarding fossil fuel-free portfolios and related investor concerns. The survey was completed by 466 licensed investment professionals, asset managers, investors, and representatives of SRI investment companies, community development financial institutions, and social research/proxy voting organizations.
Other key survey findings include:
· 77 percent see growing risks for investors associated with fossil fuel company holdings in their investment portfolios.
· 30 percent of those surveyed either already do – or are getting ready to – offer fossil-fuel free portfolios to investors.
· 63 percent believe that investors will in the next 10 years start divesting in meaningful numbers from fossil-fuel companies due to climate change implications of such energy sources.
First Affirmative President Steve Schueth, producer of The SRI Conference, said: “The survey findings strongly suggest that fossil fuel free investing is one of the SRI industry’s next big issues. Ours is an incredibly dynamic field, and as we develop the agenda for the 24th annual SRI Conference in October, we are working hard to present speakers and sessions focused on the most timely, important, and pressing topics. Fossil fuel free investing is already becoming a nationwide movement, and it’s likely to gain momentum as the impacts of climate destabilization are felt far and wide.
In addition, the survey also found that:
· 67 percent of respondents believe that 2013 is the right time for investors to assess and perhaps alter their approach to investing in traditional energy companies.
· 40 percent of those surveyed worry about increased diversification risk in fossil fuel free portfolios, in their role as a fiduciary to clients.
· 24 percent of those surveyed said they would be able to adequately replace the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel companies in portfolios they managed/advised with holdings that exhibit similar risk/return characteristics.
The full survey findings are available online at http://216.30.191.148/sricfossilfuelsurvey.pdf.
About The SRI Conference
The 24th annual SRI Conference (http://www.SRIconference.com), the leading North American forum for investors and investment professionals involved in sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing, will be October 28-30, 2013 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Please contact Krystala Kalil, at 888-774-2663 orkrystala@SRIconference.com.
About First Affirmative Financial Network
First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC () is an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587) offering investment consulting and asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious investors. First Affirmative produces The SRI Conference (http://www.SRIconference.com).
The faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design voted unanimously in favor of divesting from fossil fuels at a meeting Wednesday.
Though the faculty vote does not translate immediately to divestment, it could put pressure on the RISD Board of Trustees to work to divest from fossil fuels, said Anne Tate, chair of the faculty steering committee, which runs RISD faculty meetings.
Divestment has been a topic of campus debate since November, when the student group Divest RISD formed and began advocating administrative discussion about divesting from coal, said Emma Beede, a RISD student and founder of Divest RISD.
Beede worked with fellow members of the campaign to petition students and speak with the Board of Trustees, she said. The group’s efforts culminated in a presentation that Beede gave to the RISD faculty at a meeting last month.
An informal show of hands at the meeting revealed an almost unanimous opinion from the faculty in favor of divestment, she said. Over the next month, Divest RISD filed a motion to hold a formal faculty vote on the record.
“There was very little discussion,” Tate said, adding that Beede’s presentation in February presented a logical argument and a reasonable request of the institution.
Tate attributed the faculty’s unanimous opinion to an expression of unity and student support and faculty members’ beliefs that divestment is a wise choice in light of the threats presented by climate change.
“It’s a great opportunity for RISD to be a leader in this movement,” Tate said.
“(This vote) means that we’re seeing student activism for the first time,” Beede said, adding that RISD students have been restrained about activism in the past.
“Climate change is just the thing to bring us out of our bubbles,” she said.
Beede said the next step is to get a vote from the RISD student body. She added that Divest RISD has collected around 200 student signatures through its petition efforts.
“We’ve been focusing on the faculty mostly,” she said. “So far it’s been a low-key student campaign.”
Beede said Divest RISD’s partnership with the Brown Divest Coal campaign has been instrumental and will continue to be important in the months to come.
But Brown and RISD have “very different battles,” because RISD is a much smaller institution, Beede said, adding that Brown activists face many more obstacles in their campaign.
Nathan Bishop ’13, a member of the Brown Divest Coal campaign, said the group is thrilled about the RISD faculty vote, adding that it is “a wonderful step forward” for the community.
via RISD faculty votes supporting divestment — Brown Daily Herald.
BOSTON, MA–Marketwire – 10/07/09 – The Eventide Gilead Fund NASDAQ:ETGLX – News, a mutual fund practicing values-based and socially responsible investing, was named as a Category King by the Wall Street Journal for the one-year period ending September 30, 2009 for its no-load retail class shares. This is the fifth time in 2009 the Fund has been named Category King by the Wall Street Journal, in recognition of ranking within the top ten funds in its category for fund performance. The Eventide Gilead fund was ranked #2 out of 380 midcap-core funds for the period based upon its investment return. During this period, the Fund generated a return of 15.67% compared with the S&P 500 Index return of 6.91%, an out-performance of 22.58%.
via Eventide Funds | A Values-Based Approach to Investing.
Dutch pension funds are increasingly looking to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors beyond the developed market equity asset class, according to a new study from the VBDO, the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development.
The study Benchmark Responsible Investment by Pension Funds in the Netherlands 2010 found that the investors are looking at ESG factors in the corporate and government bond class, real estate and alternatives.
While 39 of the funds reviewed – 65% of the sample – have an exclusion policy for public equity, the VBDO found that 32 have a similar stance for corporate bonds, and six have exclusion criteria for government debt.
As for ESG integration, the VBDO found that 20 funds “demonstrably” integrate ESG into their public equity investment selections. This compares to 11 who integrate, five systematically, in corporate bonds. Two funds, Pensioenfonds SNS REALL, and Rabobank Pensioenfonds, integrate ESG into their government bond portfolios.
via Responsible Investor.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
November 9, 2010
SRI Assets Up 13 Percent in Current Economic Downturn, While Overall Assets Increased Less Than 1 Percent; Several Factors Driving Current and Expected Future SRI Growth.
Despite the recent economic downturn, sustainable and socially responsible investing (SRI) in the United States is continuing to grow at a faster pace than the total universe of investment assets under professional management, according to the new 2010 edition of the Social Investment Forum Foundation’s Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States.
Key report findings include the following:
• The pool of assets engaged in SRI strategies – the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, shareholder advocacy and community investing — has grown more rapidly than the overall investment universe due to such factors as net inflows into existing SRI products, the development of new SRI products, and the adoption of SRI strategies by managers and institutions not previously involved in the field.
• Since 2005, SRI assets have increased more than 34 percent while the broader universe of professionally managed assets has increased only 3 percent. From the start of 2007 to the end of 2009, a three-year period when broad market indices such as the S&P 500 declined and the broader universe of professionally managed assets increased less than 1 percent, assets involved in sustainable and socially responsible investing increased more than 13 percent (from $2.71 trillion to $3.07 trillion).
• Nearly one out of every eight dollars under professional management in the United States today — 12.2 percent of the $25.2 trillion in total assets under management tracked by Thomson Reuters Nelson — is involved in some strategy of socially responsible and sustainable investing.
via Social Investment Forum: Press Release: Report: Socially Responsible Investing Assets in US Top $3 Trillion; Nearly 1 Out of Every 8 Dollars Under Professional Management (11/9/2010).
SocialFunds.com — Founded in 2007 in response to genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and another three million displaced, Investors Against Genocide (IAG) seeks to bring pressure on investment firms to end their investment in companies that contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.
According to IAG, five Asian oil companies—PetroChina, CNPC Hong Kong, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Sinopec, and PETRONAS—have provided revenue to the government of Sudan for arms and funding of genocide, rather than economic development for the poor people of Sudan. Large mutual funds that have not yet made a commitment to genocide-free investing include Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Vanguard.
In a white paper entitled Genocide-free Investing: New Opportunities for Investors, IAG documents some of the successes it has had in its engagement with financial institutions on the issue. Unlike the three above-named companies, which continue to hold large investments in companies linked to genocide, American Funds and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) have sold their holdings in companies with ties to the government of Sudan.
via Investors Against Genocide Expands Focus Beyond Shareowner Engagement to Include Recommendations for Financial Advisors.
Following are companies that have been removed from Portfolio 21 because they no longer meet our investment criteria.
We divest from companies for financial, environmental, and/or corporate responsibility performance issues. We inform companies when they are divested for environmental and corporate responsibility concerns with the intention of providing education that may motivate changes in their performance. Following is a sample of divested companies during the last 12 months.
Securities mentioned are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.
via In Depth – Activism – Divested Companies – Portfolio 21.
As investors, we have an opportunity to engage with companies and the public in addressing environmental and other corporate responsibility concerns that inform our investment process.
We employ several different engagement strategies, all of which are integrated into our research and investment process, thereby linking our investment decisions with the success or failure of our company engagements. We also support and collaborate with As You Sow, a non-profit organization using shareholder activism to ensure that corporations act responsibly. Our primary concerns are corporate actions taken at the expense of employees, environment, and community. Communications and Proxy Voting are the primary engagement strategies.
via In Depth – Activism – Portfolio 21.
Portfolio 21 developed and employs the following proprietary framework to evaluate which companies understand their ecological risks and opportunities, and are taking positive action to integrate sustainability strategies in their business models.
In our view, there are no truly sustainable companies in Portfolio 21, therefore no companies excel in all of the areas listed below. However, we select companies with strengths in multiple areas that are well positioned to make further advancements in addressing sustainability challenges.
via In Depth – Investment Philosophy – Company Evaluation Criteria – Portfolio 21.
At Least 17 States Already Allow State Employees to Consider SRI Choice for Retirement Funds
The introduction of the Federal Employees Responsible Investment Act (FERIA), is a significant milestone for socially responsible and sustainable investing (SRI), proposing to grant federal employees the opportunity to select an SRI option in their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
The Social Investment Forum (SIF) commends Rep. Jim Langevin, the original sponsor of the bill, (D-R.I.) and original co-sponsors Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Nita Lowey (D-NY) and James McGovern (D-MA) for their leadership on this legislation.
At least 17 states — Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin — already offer their employees the option of investing retirement dollars in SRI funds.
SIF CEO Lisa Woll said: “This measure would give federal employees the range of investment options that many state and private sector employees already have access to by allowing investments in at least one socially responsible index fund. Investors are increasingly turning to socially responsible and sustainable investment (SRI) options because good corporate governance and performance on social and environmental issues are often indicators of financial success, good management and less risk. Many federal employees enter the government to pursue social and environmental goals and are looking for investment options that work towards — rather than against — achieving those goals.”
Rep. Langevin said: “The reckless actions of financial institutions over the past few years provide a clear illustration of why we need to place a greater importance on good corporate governance. That is why I reintroduced the Federal Employees Responsible Investment Act — a bill I have sponsored for the past five years. Investing in companies that are committed to corporate responsibility and sustainability will have a positive impact on our financial system, as well as empower federal employees to reward companies that share their values.”
via Social Investment Forum: Press Release: Social Investment Forum Applauds Introduction of Bill Allowing Federal Employees to Select SRI Retirement Option (9/21/2010).
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