The Australian Ethical Investment Association (AEIA) is aiming to
export a kitemark system for socially responsible investment products
and services.
The kitemark has proved popular since its inception in September 2005
in Australia, where more than 30 service providers, among them
investment managers and financial advisers, have now met the conditions
for its use.
A financial adviser, for example, can be certified to use the mark
after showing that he or she meets certain levels of disclosure and
knowledge about SRI products, while a fund manager would have to meet
requirements on research methods and transparency.
Doubts, however, have been raised about its suitability for markets
outside Australasia. Eugene Ellman, executive director of the Canadian
Social Investment Organisation, said his board has been considering its
adoption, but there were concerns that a kitemark might position SRI
solely as a niche market, and also about how the initiative would pay
for itself. No final decision had been taken, but Ellman thought it
‘unlikely’ to win board approval.
The AEIA, an eight-year-old membership body for investment
professionals in Australia and New Zealand, claims the labelling scheme
is the world’s first for ethical investment products.
