Stewardship Fund

Friends’ Provident Stewardship Fund: GB0003535225 

This was the first real retail ethical fund in the UK. Friends’ Provident Life Office is a mutual insurance company, which means that rather than being owned by shareholders, it is owned mutually by its members

The aims of Stewardship's pioneers were:
1.to exclude companies that do not meet the ethical standards of the funds or harm society
2.to support companies that make a positive contribution to society
3.to encourage better business practices through shared ownership and dialogue.
 
The earliest aims of the fund remain, but have broadened over time and adapted to the wider range of investments now within the Stewardship range of funds.Today's Stewardship funds invest in shares and loan stock (bonds) from a very wide range of companies.The fund aims to provide exposure to an ethically screened portfolio of assets in order to produce capital growth. It is mainly invested in UK equities.The geographic spread is currently UK 89.40%
 
Top 5 holdings:
BG GROUP
VODAFONE GROUP
HSBC HLDGS 
STANDARD CHARTERED
PEARSON

The fund size is currently around £216.17m 

Where financial services companies are selected,the Stewardship funds will seek to identify financial services companies eligible for investment that lead the way in terms of three criteria:
•Innovative insurance and banking products, such as micro-finance, eco-insurance, socially responsible funds and community re-investment schemes
•Pro-active management of physical operations and staff,including responsible marketing,business ethics,equal opportunities and diversity, and tackling climate change
•Good practice in integrating environmental, social and governance issues into financing decisions, including project finance and asset management.

The unit price as at 30.04.2012 is 864p