Where now for SRI funds?

ETHICAL

With two major investment houses moving away from dedicated in-house SRI teams, now is the time for smaller boutiques to step in and lead the agenda, writes Ketan Patel, senior investment analyst at Ecclesiastical Investment Management.

Financial markets have endured a torrid time in recent years, lurching from crisis to crisis with no real end in sight. The New Year ushered in the usual plethora of predictions on global financial markets, mostly focused on ‘how’ and ‘if’ we are to emerge from the current quagmire. The prolonged crisis has nevertheless created an opportunity to review the current financial model, which is very much driven by short-term horizons. This is an ideal environment for socially responsible investment (SRI) to step into the void and lead the agenda for re-evaluating long-term sustainable investm...