7 Questions to Answer
When Considering
Socially Responsible
Investments for Your
Organization’s Portfolio
Contact: Robert Olcott, CAE, CIMA,
AIF, Managing Director,
ORION Investment Advisors,
rolcott@orionria.com
1. What does socially responsible
investing mean to your organization? Depending on your organization’s mission, the definition of what
is socially responsible can vary significantly.
2. Does your organization’s mission
related to social responsibility
impact prudent investment practices? This is an item that organiza
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tions and their legal counsel may
want to address prior to memorializing a socially responsible approach
in their investment policies.
3. How will your organization’s members view a socially responsible
investment approach? With public
records such as Form 990s, membership may have access to your organization’s investment information
and it’s important to consider how
certain socially responsible investment strategies may be viewed by
membership.
4. Which approach to socially respon-
sible investing is the best fit for
your organization? There are three
approaches commonly used to
implement a socially responsible
strategy:
• Avoidance. Avoiding stocks
deemed to be in conflict with
social values
• Affirmative. Actively investing in
stocks deemed to be consistent
with social values
• Shareholder Advocacy. Investors
become large, active stockholders
to affect management or opera-
tional change
5. How much of your organization’s
portfolio would you allocate to
socially responsible investing?
Many organizations that employ
socially responsible investing strategies specify — within their investment policy — a certain allocation
which will be allocated to socially
responsible investments.
6. How will socially responsible
investing impact portfolio performance? There are a wide range
of opinions and data regarding the
amount of impact that a socially
responsible investment approach
may have on performance. However,
it is important that you evaluate the
potential implications.
7. Which investment vehicles would
you use to implement a socially
responsible investment approach?
Socially responsible investments are
increasingly available through separately managed accounts, mutual
funds, exchange-traded funds. Determine which vehicles are best for your
organization.
