Green scene

Ethical funds have come a long way since the first retail fund launched in the UK in 1984. It was a struggle to be taken seriously, but driven by increasing public interest, the popularity of ethical investing has spread beyond the UK and US, attracting both institutional investors and retail savers

June 2009 sees the 25th anniversary of the F&C Stewardship Growth fund, the UK's first ethical fund for retail investors. When the fund was launched in 1984, it introduced wider environmental and social screens at a time when the ethical movement had historically focused on alcohol, tobacco, pornography and defense only. Although its popularity has risen dramatically in recent years, the idea of investing 'ethically' has been around for decades. Its origins can be traced back to the US in the 1960s, when many investors tried to stop their money being used to support the Vietnam War. This...