Publications
In this section:
Charities and Responsible Investment
Programme and mission related investment
Legal and regulatory issues
Responsible Investment
Charities and Responsible Investment
Socially Responsible Investment -
A practical introduction for charity trustees
This toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to devising and implementing a socially responsible investment
policy. It introduces key SRI investment issues and provides indispensable advice to trustees embarking on or wishing to update their organisation’s SRI strategy.
2011 EIRIS Foundation
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How to Work With Investors
This resource is a summary of thoughts from development-focussed NGO participants at a forum organised by the EIRIS Foundation in November 2011, exploring how NGOs can motivate their supporters to put pressure on investment houses to
seek corporate change, and exploring responsible investment with regards to
their own investments.
2011 EIRIS Foundation
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The Mission in the Marketplace: How Responsible Investing Can Strengthen the Fiduciary Oversight of Foundation Endowments and Enhance Philanthropic Missions (2nd Edition)
This guide is aimed at US foundations and describes how screening, shareowner advocacy, community investing and social venture capital can be used to support philanthropic goals. It includes examples of US foundations already using responsible investment strategies. This is an updated version of a paper first published in 2007. This edition has been revised to reflect data as of March 31, 2009, and includes updates related to SRI performance in the market.
2009 Social Investment Forum Foundation
Education and Training on Responsible Investing for Canadian Foundations and Endowments: An Inventory and Needs Analysis
This study looks at the availability of resources and training on responsible investment that is targeted at Canadian foundations and endowments. The report lists the most relevant publications and websites and summarises the current training opportunities on this issue. Key themes emerging from current resources are highlighted and recommendations are made for areas of development for training and education provision
2009 The Social Investment Organization
Responsible Investment by Charities: the Role of Pooled Funds
This guide explores how well charity pooled funds cater for the increasing number of charities that are developing responsible investment policies. It is designed to help trustees consider how their social, environmental or ethical concerns can be incorporated into their charity’s investment choices and to help fund managers consider where there may be room for development and innovation to meet unmet needs.
2009 EIRIS Foundation
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Are Charity Consultants Helping or Hindering the Development of SRI?
This paper examines the role of consultants in enabling charities to invest in line with their mission. It considers the views of advisers and charities and provides recommendations for overcoming the challenges to the supply of and demand for SRI services.
2009 EIRIS Foundation
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Sustainable returns: The value of environmental, social and governance factors for Foundation investments
This paper examines
how trusts and foundations should consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities in their investments to safeguard value and protect the interests of future beneficiaries. It looks at why issues such as climate change and corporate governance pose financial risks and opportunities for investors.
2009 EIRIS Foundation
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Investing Responsibly: A practical introduction for charity trustees
This toolkit provides charity staff and trustees with a general introduction
to issues of Responsible Investment and includes a step-by-step guide to developing
a responsible investment approach. It was produced by the EIRIS/UKSIF Charity
Project in collaboration with NCVO. 2005
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The Responsible Investment Approaches of Common Investment Funds (CIFs)
This guide from the EIRIS/UKSIF Charity Project helps charities understand the underlying approaches of CIFs and how their fund managers address social, environmental and ethical issues through the investment process. The guide also briefly looks at Responsible Investment options available to charities through investing in other pooled funds.
2006 EIRIS/UKSIF
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Responsible Investment Approaches to Non-Equity Investments: An introduction
for charity trustees
This guide from the EIRIS/UKSIF Charity Project provides
an introduction to the growing range of Responsible Investment opportunities
for charities. It describes Responsible Investment issues, approaches and options
in asset classes such as property, private equity, bonds, cash deposits and
hedge funds.
2006 EIRIS/UKSIF
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Investment and Engaging with Companies: A Guide for Faith Communities
This guide is designed to help church members, faith communities and other responsible investors in influencing companies on the basis of Christian and ethical values. It explains why faith groups need to invest responsibly, how invested funds provide opportunities for dialogue with companies and fund managers and the practical do’s and don'ts of dialogue and engagement.
2008 ECCR
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The Mission in the Marketplace: How Responsible Investing Can Strengthen the Fiduciary Oversight of Foundation Endowments and Enhance Philanthropic Missions
This guide is aimed at US foundations and describes how screening, shareowner advocacy, community investing and social venture capital can be used to support philanthropic goals. It includes examples of US foundations already using responsible investment strategies.The second edition of this paper was published in 2009 and is available to download here (see above).
2007 Social Investment Forum Foundation.
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Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance Issues into Institutional Investment: a Handbook for Colleges and Universities
This step-by-step guide is designed to encourage US colleges and universities to adopt responsible investment practices in pursuit of social and environmental change. The guide is aimed at higher education trustees and administrators and student activists who want to push for responsible investing on their campuses.
2007 Amnesty International USA and the Responsible Endowments Coalition
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Handbook on Responsible Investment across Asset Classes
This handbook explores how foundation asset managers can link mission with investments. Each chapter focuses on a single asset class – cash equivalents, public equities, fixed-income, real estate, private equity, hedge funds, and commodities – identifying three key issues and challenges for responsible investment.
2007 Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment
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UK Charity Ethical Investment: Policy, Practice and Disclosure
This report describes the relationship between the objectives of charities and the way in which they invest their funds. It provides best practice examples in the area of charity ethical investment disclosures and suggests ethical investment policy guidelines for charities.
2006 ACCA
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Principles for Responsible Investment Management of Endowments: PRIME Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to help foundations manage their endowments in a socially responsible way. The aim of this guide is to provide more clarity and deeper understanding for all interested parties about how to better implement responsible investment practices. The toolkit will serve not only endowed foundations, but also mainstream financial service providers interested in responsible investment.
2006 European Social Investment Forum (Eurosif), Bellagio Forum for Sustainable Development and European Foundation Centre.
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Do UK Charities Invest Responsibly? A survey of current practice
This report explores the investment policies and practices of the UK voluntary sector, in particular its approach to ethical and socially responsible investment. It is based on a survey of over 100 of the UK's largest charities and foundations, backed up by in-depth interviews with a number of key informants. The report is intended both as a survey of current practice and a source of advice on future action for those concerned with charitable investments, be they trustees, staff, donors or the investment community.
2003 Just Pensions, CAF and EIRIS
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Programme and mission related investments
Solutions for Impact Investors: From Strategy to Implementation
This paper offers practical guidance for investors on tightening the link between investment decisions and social impact creation. Through examples of good practice the paper explores how investors can integrate impact investing into existing asset allocation models as well as how to ensure that the resulting social impact is maximised. The paper develops themes explored in Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors 2008 publication New Passing Gear: Mission-Related Investing (see below).
2009 Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Mission Possible: Emerging opportunities for 'Mission Connected Investment'
This report examines how charitable foundations and philanthropic organisations can use a proportion of their endowment in support of their goals via Mission Connected Investment (MCI). The report defines MCI as investment which promises a market return and helps to achieve the investor's social, environmental or ethical mission. Mission Possible includes an inventory of more than forty potential mission investments in fifteen asset classes that point the way for those wishing to develop an MCI element in their investment portfolios.
2008 NEF
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New Passing Gear: Mission-Related Investing
This practical guide translates the concepts, ideas and philosophy of Mission-Related Investing (MRI) into useable policies and practices for foundation trustees. The guide includes 12 US case studies that reflect the diversity of approaches used by organisations currently practicing MRI (including market rate and below market rate investments) and contains tools and templates for creating and executing MRI strategies.
2008 Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
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Compounding Impact: Mission Investing by U.S. Foundations
This report provides the first comprehensive analysis of mission investing by US foundations. The study analyses the mission investment activity of 92 US foundations, which have made a combined total of $2.3 billion of mission investments. Mission investing is a more specific type of social investing, and represents the use of financial investments as tools to achieve a foundation's mission. 2007 FSG Social Impact Advisors
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Foundations and social investment
Over the last thirty years or so, practitioners in the UK and US have engaged in a range of social investment activities - defined as investments which generate a social as well as a financial return. This briefing and the full report describe the principles and concepts behind social investment and use case studies - from both the UK and the US - to help shed light on how social investments have actually happened and worked in practice
2005 Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
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The Magic Roundabout: How charities can make their money go further
An introductory guide to programme related
Investment
2003 Bircham Dyson Bell and Sayer Vincent
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publication
Legal and regulatory issues
Charity Commission CC14: Investment of Charitable Funds
Basic principles (2004)
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Detailed guidance (2003)
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Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice
2005
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Responsible Investment
UKSIF Sustainable Pensions Library
Suggests key reading material for trustees on Responsible Investment, including
details of key initiatives and legal and financial arguments for SRI.
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