Responsible Investing Gathers Momentum

As religious people we have always tried to do good works with our hands and with our time. More and more we're letting our money represent our values as well. Following the lead of the UUA, many congregations are investing their endowment and other funds in socially responsible investments.

The UUA wants to help more congregations discover the benefits of using their money to help the world. In June at General Assembly 2002 in Québec City, the UUA kicked off a new focus on inviting congregations to participate either individually or with the UUA in socially responsible investing (SRI). Three workshops in Québec City on various aspects of SRI drew large crowds. "This is an important religious issue," says Jim Gunning, chair of the UUA's new Socially Responsible Investing Committee. "This is a ministry of using UU capital to get corporations to respond to our values."

There are several levels of involvement with SRI. The first is the one the UUA started with many years ago in making decisions about investing its endowments--avoiding investments in areas such as tobacco products and manufacture of armaments. The UUA has graduated from this so-called negative investing to the next step--positive investing, seeking out socially responsible companies to invest in and support. And in the past two years it has gone further. UUA representatives, including ministers of several of our congregations, have appeared at annual meetings of companies in which the UUA holds stock, advocating for business reforms, including domestic partner benefits and fair treatment of workers in company factories in places like Asia.

The UUA is part of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, composed of more than 275 religious or religious-affiliate organizations working together on SRI.

For the UUA, the focus now is turning to encouraging more congregations to think about SRI. "We're trying to encourage them to get into the game, to link their religious values with their money," says Gunning.

Congregations may invest their endowment or other funds, using their own SRI expertise or drawing on information from the UUA, or they may send all or part of their endowment funds to the UUA, which will invest it for them as part of its pooled investment program. Trained SRI volunteers are available to visit congregations. (For information contact the SRI committee.)

The UUA manages an endowment fund of about $90 million. More than 150 congregations and UUA-affiliated groups invest their endowment funds with the UUA. The number of congregations that invest funds with the UUA has increased about five percent in recent years.

Gunning says it's a myth that SRI, while a "good thing to do," means a lower rate of return. "That's absolutely not true. It may have been true a few years ago, but times have changed. Now many SRI funds are outperforming regular funds. And there are many more to choose from." He encourages treasurers and endowment committees to go to the Social Investment Forum Web site, where SRI funds are tracked.

"I am investment chair for the UU Service Committee and we deal with screened funds entirely," says Gunning. "The best of them regularly outperform the Standard & Poors 500."

Some congregations may fear that going to SRI is too much work. Gunning notes many companies--and the UUA--will help you make the transition. Companies that focus on SRI or offer screened funds include Walden, Trillium, Calvert, and Domini.

"Find a knowledgeable financial professional who can explain it to you," Gunning says. "You don't have to jump in 100 percent the first day."

"This is a good time in history to do this," he adds. "There's an increasing focus on global business accountability because of Enron. Companies are listening. And since corporations influence elected officials with money, this is a good time to make them more responsible."

Stephanie Leighton, whose Trillium Asset Management company has had a booth at General Assembly for two years, said interest in SRI is increasing. "This year there were many more people talking about it, picking up flyers, and calling me later. Part of that is because the UUA is promoting this more, but another reason is that investors are realizing they have to be more diligent in watching what corporations are doing." She also noted that socially responsible investing fits with the UUA's 2001-2002 study/action issue on economic globalization.

First Parish Church of Duxbury, Mass., has $2.2 million invested through Trillium. "We're very satisfied with our return," says Joe Shea. "This has worked very well for us since we started it in 1989."

The Unitarian Fellowship of West Chester, Pa., moved its Social Action Trust Fund ($10,270) into two socially responsible funds, the Vanguard Calvert Index and the Vanguard GNMA fund in early December, 2000.

"Everyone thought the change was the right thing to do," said treasurer Linda Sander. "No one has ever said anything against our decision," even though the value of the shares has declined significantly as the market has fallen.

About ten years ago the Unitarian Society of Hartford, Conn. (417), received a bequest that tripled its endowment to about $650,000. "We went through a very systematic search of all the options of how to manage it," said Kent Jamison. "Before, it was largely in fixed investments because we needed the income for our operating fund. We had one member of the trustees, Tom Kemble, who was our conscience, who kept bringing up this thing called socially responsible investing."

The congregation divided the endowment among socially responsible and conventional funds. "I think it gives both the trustees and the congregation peace of mind that a major chunk of the now $1.2 million endowment is in a socially responsible fund."

RESOURCES

Start with the UUA's web page on socially responsible investing.