It is in the ‘light green’ space where investors should be wary of investing in a fund that could be considered ethical by name only.
Liontrust’s Neil Brown, a lead manager of a sustainable equity fund, says fund managers should play a role in being more transparent too.
“Our holdings have been up online for some time and it’s all about being clear about what we are doing.
“It might be that some of these funds set out what they are doing and then do that and I think that’s reasonable. If you do what you say you are going to do and do it, that’s great.”
“It’s on us [fund managers], we need to be transparent and we need to be very clear.”
The evolution of values over the years and the divergence of views across the population means it is unlikely we will see the introduction of any wider definition or sector-wide box ticking requirements for the right to call a fund ‘ethical’.
The least the industry can do is point investors in the right direction and highlight poor practice when it appears.
But as Kermit the Frog has often told us, it’s not easy being green.
