Ethical Investments

Ethical investments are similar to traditional investments with only one difference. Both traditional and ethical investors pursue the same goal of capital gains, higher income and/or preservation of capital for future needs. "The major difference between traditional investors and ethical investors is that ethical investors do not want their investments going for things that cause harm to the social or physical environments. Instead they want their investments to support needed and life supportive goods and services"(Kingswood Consultants ). In this paper I will explain what ethical investments are, why ethical investments are so significant, what was the past stand on ethical investments, the current stand on ethical investments and lastly where would ethical investments place be in the future. "Ethical investments also known as socially responsible investments provide a positive way for individuals to match their ideals and principles with their investments. The aim of most ethical investment funds is to achieve medium to long-term capital growth and/or income growth through investments in companies with a proven track record of social responsibility" (Asset Financial Management ). When the investors invest their money into companies, they are not only looking at the companies ' investment potential but they also look at whether the company is socially responsible. To find the answer to the previous question, ethical investors use the process called screening.
"Screening is the practice of including and excluding publicly traded securities from investments portfolios or mutual funds based on social and/or environmental criteria. Socially concerned investors generally seek to own profitable companies with respectable employee relations, strong records of community involvement, excellent environmental impact policies, and practices, respect for human rights around the world, and safe and useful products". (Hal Brill and Jack A Brill ) 48. Ethical