F&C Investments has earned a reputation for being a responsible investor since launching the UK’s first ethical fund in 1984.

Twenty-two years later, in April 2006, the London-based asset manager became one of the founder signatories of the UN Principles of Responsible Investment, an initiative to encourage shareholders to consider the environmental, social and corporate governance performance of the companies in which they invest. Today all £104 billion of F&C’s assets under management are invested with so-called “ESG” – environmental, social and governance – criteria in mind.

Director of corporate governance George Dallas heads the governance aspect of F&C’s research, voting and engagement with the 4,000 companies in which it invests. The 17-strong governance and sustainable investment team of analysts, of which Dallas is a member, also screens companies for the company’s stewardship funds. These ethical investment funds, which exclude stocks in certain companies or sectors for moral reasons, are worth £3.4 billion, or about 3 per cent of F&C’s overall portfolio.

Upcoming Ethical Corporation conferences & events:
Learn vital anti-corruption, ethics and compliance best practice and strategies at foremost European Summit
2–3 November 2010, London Learn CSR best practice from multinational CEOs and 450 of your peers at Europe’s largest sustainability conference
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9–10 November 2010, London
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