Social Philosophy and Screening

Our investment decisions are guided by our commitment to a thorough financial and social evaluation of each investment. We believe that a company’s long-term success is inexorably linked to a positive relationship between the company and its employees, community, and the environment. Listed below are the guidelines that we apply to our investment decisions.

Environment
We favor companies that are working to minimize environmental impact, encourage environmentally sustainable business practices, and utilize environmentally friendly technologies. We look for companies that have shown leadership in addressing the environmental challenges faced by their particular industries. We avoid companies that have demonstrated a consistent disregard for the environment.

Management Integrity and Ethics
As shareholders our clients are part owners and employers of corporate management. When judging executive leadership at a company we consider transparency of reports issued by management, how conflicts of interest are handled, and evidence of long-term planning. We avoid companies where management appears to be self-serving, deceptive, and focused on short- term results. We favor companies where management shows concern about the long-term social and environmental impact of corporate decisions.

Human Rights
We invest in companies that have shown a recognition and respect for fundamental human rights through their business relationships and operations.

Products and Services
We choose companies that provide products and services which can be generally defined as having a net positive impact on society. We go further than simply avoiding companies that produce obviously harmful products such as tobacco or weapons. When analyzing the food industry we search for companies that provide healthier choices to consumers. When evaluating an industry such as steel we consider the use of recycled scrap steel as a raw material. While we avoid some industries entirely due to the noxious nature of their products, other businesses may be less clear from a social perspective and require a relative judgment.

We will work with clients who wish to refine or add to the broad categories discussed above.