News
22/01/07 - ECO ECONOMY DRIVES PERFORMANCE OF SRI FUNDS
Increased take over activity in the booming eco economy helped socially responsible investments (SRI) to significantly outperform the market during 2006.
That is the view of a leading SRI fund manager whose unit trust was the seventh best performer in the UK last year.
Mike Fox, Fund Manager for CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust, said: ‘Many businesses have become very profitable by tapping into the eco-pound and this has led to takeover interest from larger companies seeking to increase their share of a market that can no longer be considered niche.’
‘As such businesses tend to feature more prominently in SRI funds than they do in other unit trusts it has benefited their performance.’
Mike Fox cites such examples as Scottish Power, the second largest developer of wind power in the USA, which received a takeover approach from a Spanish utility, and Enterprise, one of the largest water leakage repair businesses in the UK, which received a bid from a private equity company.
CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust provided a total return of 31.8 per cent for the 12 months to 31 December 2006, significantly better than the 16.7 per cent of the UK FTSE All-Share and 17.4 per cent achieved by the UK All Companies sector*.
Recent research by sister organisation the Co-operative Bank shows that ethical consumerism was worth £29.3bn to UK economy during 2005, more than alcohol and cigarettes**.
ENDS
Note to Editors:
*Source of performance data S&P Micropal 15 January 2007.
**Figures taken from Co-operative Bank Ethical Purchasing Index.
ISDN facilities are available for broadcast media interviews.
22nd January 2007
For further information contact:
Andy Hammerton
Co-operative Financial Services Press Office
Tel: 0161 827 5628 / 07799 476 977
Fax: 0161 829 2751
e-mail: andy.hammerton@co-op.co.uk
