Many fund managers, lawyers and academics assume that pension funds' legal responsibility to manage assets in the best interests of their beneficiaries (their fiduciary duty) rules out including social, ethical and environmental concerns in investments. A counter-argument is that beneficiaries'...

Microfinance is often assumed to be an ethically progressive industry, but in recent years it has been the target of much ethical criticism. Microfinance institutions have been accused of using exploitative lending techniques and charging usurious interest rates; and critics even question the...

This present paper relates the results of an exploratory survey distributed among individuals invested in so-called ethical (or socially responsible) mutual funds, and attempts to develop a better understanding of these individuals’ ethical beliefs – especially concerning whether, or why,...

A critical issue for the future growth and impact of socially responsible investment (SRI) is whether institutional investors are legally permitted to engage in it – in particular whether it is compatible with the fiduciary duties of trustees. An ambitious report from the United Nations...

One of the most salient ethical debates concerning microcredit pertains to the unexpectedly high rates of interest charged on microloans. Microcredit is supposed to be to the advantage of borrowers in some of the poorest regions of the world, but at the same time commercial institutions need to...