Finding a fund that suits you

The number of financial advisers specialising in ethical funds has mushroomed in recent years with some 25 firms spread around Britain. The best way to find one is via the website of the Social Investment Forum at www.uksif.org, which also contains a huge amount of useful information on ethical investment issues. The Ethical Investment Research Service, (tel 0845 606 0324), offers a free list of independent financial advisers who offer advice on ethical investment. It also sells a 108-page independent guide, Money & Ethics, for people who want to reflect their ethical concerns when choosing a pension, Pep, endowment mortgage or other ethical investment plan, priced at £15.

One of the biggest IFAs in the ethical field is the Ethical Investment Cooperative, which has five offices around the UK and is adviser to Amnesty International's staff.

Julian Parrott of EIC says: "You tend to find that people wanting to invest ethically split into two types. First there are those who want a fund which reflects their concerns about human rights, oppressive regimes and so on. The second type are those who emphasise ecological and environmental issues, but the two are not mutually exclusive. Recently animal rights have become a key issue for almost everybody, whereas alcohol and gambling feature less in investors' critieria. Our job is to interpet people's needs and find the fund that matches them."

Currently he favours Jupiter on the environmental front and Murray Ethical World for its focus on social issues and human rights. He also likes NPI Global Care and Norwich Union's new range of funds based on renewable energy and sustainable development.

But ethical investing doesn't stop at unit trusts. EIC aims to help clients build an ethical financial profile through their pension, mortgage and bank account. "The banking industry is still the least developed ethically in terms of how it lends your deposits," says Mr Parrott.

EIC can be found at www.ethicalmoney.org