Ethical investment, would be so easy...

How appropriate is it that a charity and a public institution are funding the manufacture of torture equipment and landmines... it would be so easy to sort out but, guild officers for the entirety of my time at university have consistently blocked progress. It is a change that countless student unions have achieved, to the benefit of their universities and students... the below is a plea to next year team to stop acting like spanners in the work and be a help not a hindrance.

Images like this are deeply disturbing; peace activists shot multiple times at close range, some dying, some dead. Over forty shot, if you have any doubt, about the nature of violence last Monday you can find the evidence here however, the images are very disturbing so, you may not want to look.

Can’t we have an investment policy at the University of Birmingham or at the guild of students that means we have nothing to do with M-16 totting kids rappelling out of helicopters and shooting aid workers? Freedom of information requests about the university holdings reveal not only does it has stakes in the manufacture of M-16s that the Israeli commandos use but in depleted uranium weaponry, cluster bombs, land mines and torture equipment not just sold to Israel but other equally repressive regimes like Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

Would it be so hard? The USS, which is the universities academics pension fund, holds £19 billion can manage an ethical policy. As can universities like Oxbridge colleges, Edinburgh, York, East Anglia, Stanford and Harvard The School of Oriental and African Studies not to mention the massive local authority bodies like Devon, Hampshire, London, Croydon, and Edinburgh.... to name a few.

It wouldn’t cost a dime, the guild has this year committed to adopting an environmentally friendly investment policy, the change doesn’t have to happen overnight, merely the next time a new investment is made, just make sure it is in line with ethical policy... a gradual transfer costs nothing.

Interestingly, modern studies are challenging the assumption that ethical funds underperform the market. Some are going as far as indicating that they could be more profitable. The FTSE4Good index has repeatedly outperformed the FTSE index and the Jupiter Ecology Fund has grown in value by 135% since its inception. It is thought that the more diverse nature of ethical fund holdings and the avoidance of share value disasters like what is currently happening to BP lead to the increased profits that have been clearly more resilient to the recession.

And if the university is looking for an ethical equity fund that has performed consistently better than the BGI fund that is uses it should try this one
Ethical investment is a change waiting to happen at the university, it just needs students to at last act as catalysts. We would only be asking them to invest our money more competently while making the university more attractive to alumni donors.

This year’s officer team have refused the lobby the university, blocked attempts in guild council on spurious fears of recriminations by large multinational companies. This is a challenge that countless student unions have got their university to rise to... so please will next year’s officer team rise to this challenge? I’m looking at Dora Meredith next year’s president Ashley chambers the VPDR and Rob Hunter in particular to take the lead on this.
If you want to tackle this ...

You will need to get ethical clauses built into the terms of reference of the university investment subcommittee. Win student representation on this committee, shouldn’t we have a say in how our finances are run? And strengthen the universities incredibly weak ethical investment policy which reads “The Members actively encourage the Fund’s Investment Manager(s) to take account of social responsibility considerations insofar as they believe such considerations will not jeopardise return or increase risk. The Members also consider non-financial and reputational risk and have chosen not to invest directly in companies that are involved in the production and sale of tobacco”.

Terms of Reference investment sub committee

(a) To determine the investment policy and the criteria upon which the investment performance will be measured
(b) To determine delegated authorities of staff within the Finance Office, within the investment policy
(c) To ratify changes to the investment policy made within the delegated powers
(d) To receive reports from the University’s Finance Office on Financial performance and compliance
(e) To receive reports from organisations used by the University for investment purposes
(f) To review investment performance against policy and asset management criteria
(g) To report to the Governing Body on investment policy and performance
(h) To monitor strategic risks relevant to the work of the Committee as determined by the Strategic Risk Register.
(i) To monitor the extent to which value for money is achieved within the areas under the Committee’s oversight
(j) To monitor relevant Key Performance Indicators and to ensure that any concerns with performance against these KPIs are addressed

If on the other hand you are not a officer why not engage in a e-mail conversation or telephone call to Mr R Shortland the Assistant Director of Finance
t: 0121 414 6109, e: r.a.shortland@bham.ac.uk