invest according to exclusion (negative) and positive criteria and focus on companies that are committed to the social organization of stakeholder relations and at the same time promote the development of ecologically innovative products. A central element of most ethical funds is the consideration of exclusion criteria. In the historical context, religious motives led the development of ethical funds. Nowadays, most ethical funds include both social and environmental criteria.
invest in companies that promote the environmentally friendly further development of existing production processes or products.
invest their money in securities issued by companies that use resources sparingly and reduce pollutant emissions.
invest in companies that have the lowest environmental impact compared to their competitors in the industry and are also social leaders.
include companies that specialize in sustainable environmental technologies. These often include filter, recycling or water treatment plants. Companies from the renewable energy sector are often included in such funds. The strongly technology-driven selection methods often neglect ethical aspects.
Many of the above-mentioned funds are referred to as “investment funds” and is often used as a collective term for all types of principle-driven investments. During the selection process, the company’s relationships with the environment, employees and the public are examined.
Microfinance funds provide financial services for low-income population groups (mostly in developing countries) through specialized financial institutions. As a rule, this involves the granting of unsecured microloans to people who are not provided with traditional banking services, enabling them to secure start-up capital.
Suitable securities are selected by means of a screening process. This process involves the observation, investigation, evaluation and ultimately selection of companies with regard to their social and ecological behavior. Today, the following main procedures are sometimes used in isolation, but increasingly as a hybrid:
This procedure uses negative assessment criteria, so-called exclusion criteria. These criteria can be either
The fund avoids buying shares/bonds of such companies and countries.
In this procedure, positive assessment criteria are defined which must be fulfilled by the company/issuer. Criteria include, for example
The aim is to find companies that distinguish themselves through their particular commitment to ethical and sustainable aspects.
Explicit inclusion of ESG criteria (environmental, social and governance) and ESG risks in traditional financial analysis. The main motivation is the consideration of ESG factors that have financial relevance (also known as materiality).
This selection process is a special form of screening based on positive criteria. It involves looking for companies that have a better sustainability profile than their competitors in the same sector. Best-in-class does not automatically mean that the companies achieve optimal results. They are merely leaders relative to their industry competitors. Investors are increasingly linking best-in-class models with negative criteria.
Engagement describes the active and usually longer-term dialog between investors and companies with the aim of motivating company management to act in a more sustainable manner. One variant of engagement is the exercise of voting rights at annual general meetings and, if necessary, the submission of shareholder proposals. In Switzerland, the Ethos Foundation and the Actares association are leaders in this area, while the umbrella organization of critical shareholders is well known in Germany.