ETHICAL INVESTMENT

noun (Business World) In financial jargon, investment which takes account of the client's scruples by screening the companies to be invested in for their business morality and social outlook. Etymology: A transparent combination of ethical and investment. History and Usage: The demand for ethical investment began in the US in the early eighties and was a natural consequence of the drive to involve ordinary people in capital investment; clearly some customers would not feel happy about handing over their portfolios only to find that they were unwittingly supporting companies whose principles they were unable to agree with. Investments which customers have wanted to avoid have included the politically questionable (notably companies with South African connections), the armaments industry, and companies making 'unhealthy' products (especially tobacco and alcohol). Ethical investment became fashionable in the UK and Australia during the second half of the eighties. The latest craze to be imported from America is for 'ethical investment'. Almost every week, there seems to be a new unit trust launched which promises to invest your money only in 'socially screened' firms. Daily Telegraph 25 Sept. 1987, p. 20 Labor backbencher Mr Hayward told Parliament last night that Queensland should legislate to attract 'ethical investment' by superannuation and other funds. Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 29 Sept. 1988, p. 26