Sustainability issues driving growth in socially responsible investments

Competitive returns increase attention directed towards ethical investments

The last Conjecture debate of 2006 focused on socially responsible investment. Present at the discussion were David Gait, a senior portfolio manager on the global emerging markets/Asia Pacific equities team at First State Investments, and Ted Scott, a director and head of Stewardship funds at F&C Asset Management. Why should investors go down the SRI route? David Gait (DG): Particularly in emerging markets in Asia, the more time goes by the more convinced we are that sustainability issues are key drivers of future events in the area. We believe that if you are investing in emerging marke...