Standard Life investors kick out airlines
London, 7 February: Standard Life’s socially responsible investment (SRI) funds will no longer invest in airline stocks, following an investor survey. Thirty percent of respondents to the UK investment manager’s 2007 survey voted in favour of the complete exclusion of airlines from its range of ethical funds, the UK-based fund manager announced on Tuesday.

The decision led to the fund manager selling its holdings in the sector, a spokeswoman said, but she declined to disclose which airline stocks it held, or the size of the holdings.

“The views of investors in our ethical fund range are of paramount importance to us,” said Julie McDowell, head of SRI at Standard Life Investments. “In light of the sizeable percentage of our investors wishing to avoid investment in airlines, the [Standard Life] Ethical Committee has decided that our ethical policy should be adapted to reflect these views.”

A number of SRI funds exclude entire industry sectors, but relatively few explicitly exclude aviation, noted Stephen Hine, head of international relations at Ethical Investment Research Services. His company recently published a directory of UK ethical funds, which showed that only two fund families – offered by King & Shaxson and Norwich Union – named airlines as specific exclusions.

However, some SRI or ethical funds are likely to exclude airline stocks because they focus on sustainable industries or those that are likely to provide solutions to environmental problems, Hine added.

Edinburgh-based Standard Life Investments, with a total of £143.3 billion ($278 billion) under management, currently manages £589 million across its range of ethical funds.

Its funds also exclude, among other sectors, nuclear power, defence, alcohol, tobacco, gambling and pornography.