Ethical funds hurt investors

Almost every ethical investment fund established over the past three and a half years has failed to gain traction in the domestic market according to new data released by research houseAssirt.

The Assirt data reveals that all but two of the Australian shares ethical investment trusts launched after 1999 found themselves in negative territory in terms of performance since inception as at 31 July this year.

The exceptions were theAMPSustainable Future Australian Share Fund which, while being launched in February 2001, still managed to record a 1.5 per cent return, and the Hunter Hall Australian Value Trust, which has returned 11.81 per cent since inception.

This compared with the Westpac Investor Choice Sustainability Australian Share Fund, established in May 2002, which has returned negative 6.65 per cent since inception.

However the good news for investors is that ethical funds have all benefited from the recent recovery in both domestic and international equities with many substantially out-performing theS&P/ASX300 Accumulation Index over the past six months.

The AMP Sustainable Future Australian Share Fund returned 9.22 per cent for the final six months of the survey period, while the Westpac Investor Choice Fund returned 4.56 per cent.

The picture is even more dramatic for ethical investment trusts investing in international equities, with every fund launched since 1999 returning deeply negative.

The worst performer was theABN AMROGlobal Socially Responsible Investments Fund, established in December, 2001, which has returned negative 28.33 per cent since inception.

This compared withHunter HallGlobal Ethical Trust - deemed the best performer with returns of negative 6.26 per cent since its launch in November 2001.

However, in similar fashion to Australian shares-based trusts, the international equities trusts have benefited from the recent market rebound, with some significantly out-performing the MSCI World Acc Index over the six months ending 31 July.