Ethical Investments

If we are to have true integrity when investing, we must first of all try to understand our motivations as well as our desired results. Sometimes that means asking some difficult questions about our values and priorities. As this can vary so much from individual to individual, we have developed a short questionnaire for your consideration. This questionnaire has been designed to help you focus your thoughts on relevant ethical issues and will also help us to give you appropriate advice in due course.

Investing with any criteria will inevitably restrict the potential market available to you. As a general rule, the more ethical criteria introduced into the portfolio, the higher the risk. Nevertheless, our experience at Equity Invest has shown that added risk does not necessarily translate into poorer performance. It does, however, lead to a greater need for professional, qualified advice.

To find out if your personal ethical criteria matches your preferred risk profile, simply complete and submit our questionnaire for a free evaluation:

Negative Criteria
  1. Alcohol
  3. + Production, distribution or retail (including hotels, restaurants & supermarkets) of alcoholic beverages.
  4. ~ Distribution & retail ALLOWED.
  5. Animal Testing - Medical
  7. + Discovery or manufacture of pharmaceuticals or other healthcare products whose development involved testing on animals (including provision of contract facilities for animal testing).
  8. ~ Companies committed to the 3Rs policy of refinement, reduction & replacement ALLOWED.
  9. Animal Testing - Other
  11. + Manufacture of new cosmetic, toiletry or household products with ingredients tested on animals.
  12. ~ Companies with policies committed to the elimination of animal testing ALLOWED.
  13. Arms
  15. + Manufacture or sale of strategic weapon systems, combat platforms or ordnance; supply of components specifically designed or modified for military use; weapons testing or training systems.
  16. ~ Manufacture of specific components, supply of services or equipment of a non-specialist nature & training systems ALLOWED.
  17. Environment
  19. + Mineral extraction, fossil fuel exploration & production, quarrying, agrochemical production, production of genetically modified seeds or foodstuffs; sale of hardwood products from non-sustainable sources, motor car manufacturing, or road building; convictions for serious or persistent pollution offences.
  20. ~ Motor car manufacturing & road building ALLOWED.
  21. Gambling
  23. + Operation of betting or gaming facilities (e.g. casinos, betting shops & lotteries)
  24. ~ Involvement in lotteries ALLOWED.
  25. Human Rights
  27. + Companies operating in countries with oppressive regimes without a comprehensive human rights policy; vendors of armaments to oppressive regimes.
  28. ~ Companies operating in such countries, but providing beneficial goods or services ALLOWED.
  29. Nuclear Power
  31. + Generation of electricity from nuclear power; reprocessing or use of radioactive material for non- medical purposes; supply of equipment or services for nuclear power plant construction.
  32. ~ Supply of engineering equipment or services for plant construction ALLOWED.
  33. Pornography
  35. + Production, distribution or sale of pornographic material (e.g. satellite & cable television services, wholesale magazine/newspaper distributors).
  36. ~ Distribution ALLOWED.
  37. Tobacco
  39. + Production or retail of cigarettes & tobacco products; manufacture of associated machinery.
  40. ~ Retail of cigarettes & tobacco products ALLOWED.
POSITIVE CRITERIA
  1. Community Investment
  3. Commitment to long-term giving programmes, either via cash donations or gifts in kind (e.g. staff time, use of buildings or facilities); membership of corporate giving benchmarking groups.
  4. Employment
  6. Commitment to workplace diversity, equal opportunities, employee work/life balance, anti-bullying & stress policies.
  7. Environment
  9. Publication of policy on managing environmental impacts; monitoring key performance indicators and reporting progress against objectives in areas such as waste disposal and recycling, consumption of water.
  10. Green Technology
  12. Design, manufacture or sale of products that benefit the environment or make industrial processes cleaner or more efficient (e.g. fuel cells & components, energy efficiency, alternative fuels).
  13. Healthy Living
  15. Production, processing or retail of organic food; production of meat/dairy/poultry products under accredited non-intensive schemes; foods produced with minimal artificial content; homeopathic & natural remedies.
  16. Overseas Development
  18. Involvement in fair trade or use of an ethical supply chain policy; provision of socially or environmentally beneficial goods & services to developing countries (e.g. communications, healthcare, transport).
  19. Public Transport
  21. Operation of bus services or passenger rail franchises; manufacture of public service vehicles or components; maintenance of public transport infrastructure.
  22. Recycling & Waste
  24. Waste recycling or sustainable forms of waste management.
  25. Renewable Energy
  27. Generation or distribution of electricity from renewable sources; manufacture or development of renewable energy infrastructure (e.g. wind turbines, solar cells, power plants using renewable feedstocks).
  28. Safety & Protection
  30. Manufacture of products or provision of services facilitating compliance with health & safety legislation, or protection of human life.
  31. Training & Education
  33. Production or sale of material or the provision of services for training or educational purposes.
  36. To adopt a lower risk approach, please tick the 'Best of Sector' box. In this case, we may include select socially responsible stocks in major investment areas, such as Oil, Gas & Pharmaceuticals. This may supercede the ethical choice you have made above.
  37. My preferred risk profile:
  39. (required)
  40. (required)
  41. (required)
  42. (valid email required)
  43. Size of current / potential investments:
 

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