Accentuate the positive

ethical funds

Engagement methods of ethical investing allow managers greater investment flexibility than negative screening, and are more likely to instill good business practice, giving better returns for shareholders

Ethical investment is no longer a specialist market only for hardcore greenies. There are now 90 ethical funds to choose from, which manage £6bn between them. Ten new funds were launched in 2006 alone. While at 1% this is a small slice of the investment market, there are increasing signs that more people are considering the opportunities that ethical investment presents. But it's not necessarily the size of the market that is important - we would not have heard much about it if we were only interested in hard numbers. What is significant is its power to influence. Through ethical funds, in...