SLI ethical investors bring airline stocks down to earth

Leading investment house, Standard Life Investments has announced that the Standard Life ethical funds will no longer invest in airline stocks.

This new policy has been adopted as a direct result of feedback received in the Standard Life 2007 annual ethical investor survey in which 30% of respondents stated that they would prefer a complete exclusion of airline stocks from the funds.

Julie McDowell, Head of SRI, Standard Life Investments, said; “The views of investors in our ethical fund range are of paramount importance to us. We are unique in carrying out an annual survey to understand investor wishes and concerns and we seek, wherever possible, to reflect those concerns in the criteria applicable to our ethical funds.

“The Standard Life Ethical Committee, which is comprised of senior Standard Life managers and three individual investors in the ethical funds, has considered the results of our 2007 ethical investor survey. In light of the sizeable percentage of our investors wishing to avoid investment in airlines, the Ethical Committee has decided that our ethical policy should be adapted to reflect these views. I am sure that investors welcome the fact that they play an important part in helping to shape our ethical fund criteria.”