Recent research by Norwich Union shows that many people feel overloaded by pressure to live more ethical lives resulting in "be good guilt".
- Top quartile of IMA sector for Norwich Union sustainable future funds
Recent research1 by Norwich Union shows that many people feel overloaded by pressure to live more ethical lives resulting in "be good guilt". The good news is that with Norwich Union's sustainable future funds it's easy to act on principles and invest money into sustainable and socially responsible funds - without sacrificing investment return.
Although 90% of people feel compelled to live more ethically less than 2% of personal investors' UK assets are placed in sustainable and socially responsible retail funds (as at the end of 2005)2. There is a big gap between good intentions and the reality of the financial decisions people make but investing in sustainable funds is one way of bridging this gap.
This difference between intentions and actions may be due to the misconception that sustainable funds enjoy less favourable growth or returns than "mainstream" funds. Norwich Union's sustainable future funds show this clearly need not be the case, with six top quartile performing funds including the Norwich Sustainable Future Managed Fund which ranks in the top percentile of its IMA universe.3
Norwich Union offers the widest range of sustainable future (or SRI, Sustainable and Responsible Investment) funds so customers have the option to choose a fund which best matches their sustainable or environmental viewpoint. The funds are managed by Morley, recognised as industry experts with a wealth of experience in SRI.
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Press office contacts:
Lucy Grubb 020 7662 3624
Emma Broadbent 01904 452791
Notes to editors:
The value of investments can go down as well as up, and you may not get back your original investment.
1 Norwich Union commissioned Tickbox.net to interview, 1,580 full-time workers between 27 July and 2 August 2007.
2 Figures from EIRIS December 2005
3 Norwich Union's Sustainable Future Funds performance (data from Lipper Hindsight, as at 31 July 2007, total return with net income reinvested).
| % Growth 12 months to 31 July 2007 | ||||
| Fund | IMA | Value % | Quartile | Percentile |
| Norwich Sustainable Futures Absolute Growth Fund (SC1) | Active Managed | 19.52 | 1 | 8 |
| Norwich Sustainable Future | Balanced Managed | 18.97 | 1 | 1 |
| Norwich Sustainable Future European Growth Fund (SC1) | Europe Excluding UK | 23.19 | 1 | 18 |
| Norwich Sustainable Future Global Growth Fund (SC1) | Global Growth | 19.66 | 1 | 11 |
| Norwich Sustainable Future UK Growth Fund (SC1) | UK All Companies | 25.43 | 1 | 6 |
| Norwich UK Ethical Fund (SC1) | UK All Companies | 29.55 | 1 | 3 |
Norwich Union also offers a Sustainable Future Corporate Bond.
About Norwich Union
Norwich Union is the UK's largest insurer. It is a leading provider of life, pensions and investment products and one of the largest financial adviser (FA) providers. FAs provide over 70% of the company's long-term savings business in the UK.
Norwich Union's news releases and a selection of images are available from Aviva's internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media.
About Morley
Morley is the UK-based asset management business of Aviva plc. Firms within the Morley group of companies manage £168bn (€250bn) from offices around the world as at 30 June 2007.
SRI Awards
- Voted 'Best Fund Manager for SRI' in the Thomson Extel Survey for 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007
- SRI Provider of the Year 2006 Global Pensions
Founding signatory to the United Nations