London, 11 July 2013 – The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) today co-signed a letter to the Treasury Select Committee which calls for an inquiry into why senior Treasury economists apparently blocked a major Government review into resource depletion, climate change and UK growth prospects. The letter is signed by a number of major investment institutions, the Aldersgate Group, and Friends of the Earth and also includes a ‘Business Statement’ signed by 46 Aldersgate Group members.

Read the full press release.

Read the Joint letter to the Treasury Select Committee and associated ‘Business Statement’

The Investment Management Association’s (IMA) quarterly statistics issued today show that 2010 saw the highest net retail sales of ethical funds since 2007, up 80% in 2009, even though the number of funds tracked fell by about 10% from 52 to 47 funds. The full IMA figures, including the Q4 2010 statistics, are available here.

Commenting on the IMA statistics, Penny Shepherd MBE, UKSIF Chief Executive, said:

 “These IMA net sales figures reinforce the strong client demand for green and ethical options that we found in our research for National Ethical Investment Week last autumn.

 However, we do believe that the IMA data now significantly understates the size of the UK’s retail green and ethical investment market. The IMA tracks only about half of the retail funds that we would regard as green or ethical. In contrast, the “yourethicalmoney” site from EIRIS identifies over ninety funds.

 With National Ethical Investment Week 2011 taking place from 16-22 October this year, we hope that the IMA will review its list to include more options of interest to modern green and ethical investors.”

Read the full press release.

New research, released as part of National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW) 2010, reveals that increasing numbers of people want to use their cash to create a sustainable future. Savers and investors are adopting a new attitude of individual responsibility in the wake of banking and environmental crises, combined with huge Government spending cuts. Figures from YouGov show that more than half (54%) of all GB adults with investments want to make money and make a difference, doing their bit to ensure a resilient future.

Despite this growing trend, the financial services industry needs to work harder to make people aware of their green and ethical financial options. Four in 10 (43%) of all GB adults remain unaware that they have green and ethical options on a wide range of financial products from cash ISAs and funds, right through to mortgages and pensions.

NEIW (7-13 November) is coordinated by UKSIF – the sustainable investment and finance association, and sponsored by The Co-operative Financial Services and Ecclesiastical Investment Management.

Read the full press release.