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Over the last decade, we have observed a growing tendency to take into account non-financial aspects of asset management. The Project for Responsible Investment Management of Endowments (PRIME) is an initiative by the Bellagio Forum for Sustainable Development to ensure that the assets endowed to foundations will be invested responsibly in line with the foundations’ ethical and long-term sustainability objectives. At the 10th Anniversary meeting, current BFSD members, endowed non-member Foundations and other key stakeholders discussed the draft version of the first PRIME deliverable: the Primer for Responsible Investment Management of Endowments. This work is a joint effort between the Bellagio Forum and Eurosif, in cooperation with the European Foundation Centre, to build a toolkit to help foundations manage their endowments in a socially responsible way. The need for a practical guide for foundation trustees emerged after the Bellagio Forum conducted a survey among European and some other international foundations to map the current practices of investing and managing the foundations’ endowments.  The aim of this guide is to provide more clarity and greater understanding for all interested parties about how to better implement responsible investment practices. The primer will serve not only endowed foundations, but also the mainstream financial service providers interested in better understanding responsible investment. We aim to provide readers with the resources they will need as these factors become more and more enshrined in national and trans-national legislations. Objectives The PRIME toolkit is intended for trustees, officers and directors of Foundations. It addresses the following questions: • Why should my foundation be interested in responsible investment at all?
• Should my foundation’s boards be concerned about how our endowment is invested?
• Which responsible investment approaches are relevant for my foundation?
• Can a responsible investment strategy give equivalent returns that other investment approaches?
• What does this approach mean in terms of my fiduciary responsibility? Readers should: • Understand why their foundations need to know about responsible investment
• Be familiar with issues, players, strategies and ongoing initiatives
• Know what actions to take to get started
• Know where to look for further guidance Main questions addressed in the Toolkit: (1) What is responsible investment? and what are perceptions of it?
(2) Why is responsible investment important to foundations?
(3) What is the Fiduciary Issue?
(4) What are others doing?
(5) What strategies are available?
(6) What are emerging trends in responsible investment?
(7) What should I ask asset managers and consultants about responsible investment?
(8) How can I integrate CG/SEE into Investment Principles?
(9) What practical steps can I take – How do I “walk the talk”? A final version of PRIME will be made available to download on the website in Summer 2006. Please contact info@bfsd.org for more information. |
