I recently watched the 2003 documentary ‘The Corporation’ again, a film that inevitably gets me thinking about switching careers. But for now I will continue to believe that it’s better to incite change from my position inside the investment industry rather than just throwing my hands up in resignation. I …

I’m not very comfortable with the word ‘ethical’, particularly when used beside the word ‘corporation’? A corporation is a thing, in this case a legal structure, so how can it be classified as ethical or not? So an oil company, at its essence simply an owner or tenant on land …

Over the years, a fair number of my clients have rolled their eyes and slumped in their chairs when presented with so-called ‘ethical’ investment options. The institutions in Canada that market investments to the public…banks, credit unions, insurance companies, mutual funds…only a small fraction are vigorously responding to the Canadian …

Take it from someone who has focused on the subject for the last decade and then some. If you want to be a ‘socially responsible’ investor these days, there is little reason to feel enthused by what the financial industry has to offer. BP, for example, has over the years …

The ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has brought a basic principle of SRI into clear focus. Companies that ignore environmental and social risks put their financial bottom line in peril. BP’s shares are on a downwards spiral and now worth half of their pre-spill value. The lower the …

With global financial markets unravelling and being reconstructed, near-unanimous recognition that many aspects of human economic activity are putting our planet in peril, and new leadership in the US pledging to support science and the environment, surely the time has finally come for the ascension of ‘green’ business. Part of …

Most financial “experts” advise Canadians to diversify their stock market holdings to reflect a more global perspective. They argue that Canada only represents a small fraction of global market activity, and that investing internationally will both reduce risk and improve rates of return. It’s difficult to argue with the historical …

One of Canada’s most widely respected corporations, Oakville, Ont. based Zenon Environmental, is about to be swallowed by global behemoth General Electric in a move that, regrettably, leaves socially responsible investors in Canada with one less option in putting together an ‘ethical’ investment portfolio. Zenon is a world-leading provider of …