Burma crackdown shines spotlight on human rights

The brutal military crack-down on peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in Burma this week has once again focused attention on ethical investment. While a number of "green" funds have been launched in recent years to cater for investors' concerns about the environment and climate change, it is wide-ranging ethical funds, such as the Stewardship range managed by F&C, which provide investors with safeguards on human rights.

Robert Barrington, Director of Governance and Sustainable Investment at F&C, explained: "When Stewardship launched in 1984 the funds offered a haven for investors who, along with other ethical concerns, did not want their money invested in companies that might deliberately or unwittingly prop up the then Apartheid system in South Africa. Human rights have therefore been a cornerstone concern for Stewardship over the last 23 years and remain so.

"The Stewardship policy is to exclude companies with significant links to an oppressive regime – and as long as their operations do not generate a meaningful part of government income. The Stewardship funds also remain free of companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of weapons," concluded Barrington.