State of the SRI nation: SIO boss reviews social investment industry on eve of conference

Corporate governance focus seen as opportunity for social investment State of the SRI nation: SIO boss reviews social investment industry on eve of conference (May 29, 2003) Financial conference season shifts into high gear next month. Advisor.ca will be at five June conferences, starting with the Social Investment Organization’s (SIO) biannual gathering, beginning Sunday in […]

By Doug Watt | May 29, 2003 | Last updated on May 29, 2003
4 min read
  • Corporate governance focus seen as opportunity for social investment
  • SRI advisors bemoan lack of product
  • Fund manager offers strategies to combat SRI naysayers
  • SRI – Time for a new name?

    Bonus tool A template letter to discuss SRI with your clients and prospects Back to CSIC Coverage main page

    Eugene Ellmen: That’s not growing as fast as the smaller firms, but we are seeing some interesting developments there. For example, in the last year Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) became one of the first pension funds in Canada to adopt socially responsible proxy voting policies and to put the results on their Web site. We think that OMERS and a few others are leading the way and are going to represent a real revolution in the pension industry in years to come.

    Advisor.ca: What kind of impact did last year’s accounting scandals have on the SRI industry?

    Eugene Ellmen: There’s no direct translation, because these controversies involved governance issues, such as board independence and accounting standards. But as investors look more closely at governance issues and how boards are governed over the long term, it’s also caused them to start looking at corporate reporting from a social and environmental point of view. They’re looking at things like the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and of operations in developing countries that may involve human rights concerns. Investors are now calling for more disclosure on these types of issues so they can fairly assess the social and environmental risk to companies. And I think that’s a direct result of the heightened transparency caused by Enron and WorldCom.

    • • •

    Ellmen expects about 170 delegates to attend the SIO conference, including portfolio managers, fund company representatives, financial advisors and institutional investors. Advisor.ca will have extensive conference coverage, starting Monday, June 2.

    Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca

    (05/29/03)

    Doug Watt

  • State of the SRI nation: SIO boss reviews social investment industry on eve of conference
  • Corporate governance focus seen as opportunity for social investment
  • SRI advisors bemoan lack of product
  • Fund manager offers strategies to combat SRI naysayers
  • SRI – Time for a new name?

    Bonus tool A template letter to discuss SRI with your clients and prospects Back to CSIC Coverage main page

    Eugene Ellmen: That’s not growing as fast as the smaller firms, but we are seeing some interesting developments there. For example, in the last year Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) became one of the first pension funds in Canada to adopt socially responsible proxy voting policies and to put the results on their Web site. We think that OMERS and a few others are leading the way and are going to represent a real revolution in the pension industry in years to come.

    Advisor.ca: What kind of impact did last year’s accounting scandals have on the SRI industry?

    Eugene Ellmen: There’s no direct translation, because these controversies involved governance issues, such as board independence and accounting standards. But as investors look more closely at governance issues and how boards are governed over the long term, it’s also caused them to start looking at corporate reporting from a social and environmental point of view. They’re looking at things like the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and of operations in developing countries that may involve human rights concerns. Investors are now calling for more disclosure on these types of issues so they can fairly assess the social and environmental risk to companies. And I think that’s a direct result of the heightened transparency caused by Enron and WorldCom.

    • • •

    Ellmen expects about 170 delegates to attend the SIO conference, including portfolio managers, fund company representatives, financial advisors and institutional investors. Advisor.ca will have extensive conference coverage, starting Monday, June 2.

    Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca

    (05/29/03)