Agitation, resistance, and reconciliation with respect to socially responsible investment: the attitudes of UK pension trustees and Oxford undergraduates

摘要

Social responsibility is arguably a mainstream issue; its advocates have moved from the university campus to shareholder groups, including institutional investors. What started as an attack upon unresponsive corporations seemingly operating at will around the world has been remade into a broad-based agenda for investors focused upon improving standards of corporate governance against a variety of economic, social, and environmental criteria. There is unease amongst many investors about joining together ('legitimate') concerns for economic efficiency with ('contentious') concerns for global equity and social justice. Nonetheless, there is an increasing body of research arguing that any commitment to superior long-term rates of return must be mindful of the sustainability of chosen investment strategies [witness the activities of UK, US, and European pension funds with respect to climate change (see Mercer Investment Consulting, 2005)].