From fiduciary duties to fiduciary relationships for socially responsible investing: responding to the will of beneficiaries

Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment

Volumn 1, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 5-19

  Richardson, Benjamin J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA   (Canada)

Author keywords

beneficiaries; fiduciary duties; institutional investors; legal reform; socially responsible investment; trustees

Indexed keywords

EID: 84876434730     PISSN: 20430795     EISSN: 20430809     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3763/jsfi.2010.0002     Document Type: Article

References (79)

1. Adams, E., and Knutsen, K., 1995. ‘A charitable corporate giving justification for the socially responsible investment of pension funds: a populist argument for the public use of private wealth’. Iowa Law Review, 80: 211–256.
2. Alexander, G., 1993. ‘Pensions and passivity’. Law and Contemporary Problems, 56 (1): 111–140.
3. American Law Institute. 2003. Restatement of the Law, Trusts, 3rd edn Philadelphia: American Law Institute.
4. Anand, P., and Cowton, C., 1993. ‘The ethical investor: exploring dimensions of investment behaviour’. Journal of Economic Psychology, 14 (2): 377–385.
5. Arness, K., and Howcroft, B., 2001. ‘Corporate governance structures and the comparative advantage of credit unions’. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 9 (1): 59–65.
6. Bainbridge, S., 1992. ‘Interpreting nonshareholder constituency statutes’. Pepperdine Law Review, 19: 991–1025.
7. Barber, B., 1984. Strong Democracy: Participatory Policies for a New Age Berkeley: University of California Press.
8. Beal, D. J., Goyen, M., and Phillips, P., 2005. ‘Why do we invest ethically?,’. Journal of Investing, 14 (3): 66–77.
9. Birks, P., 2002. ‘The content of fiduciary obligation’. Trust Law International, 16 (1): 34–52.
10. Black, B., 1992. ‘Agents watching agents: the promise of institutional investor voice’. UCLA Law Review, 39: 811–893.
11. Brogle, J. C., 2005. The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism New Haven: Yale University Press.
12. Canadian Securities Administrators. 2005. National Instrument 81–106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure and Companion Policy 81–106 CP Montreal: Canadian Securities Administrators.
13. Clark, G., Hebb, T., and Hagerman, L., 2004. U.S. Public Sector Pension Funds and Urban Revitalization: An Overview of Policy and Programs Oxford: School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford.
14. Cowton, C., 1999. ‘Playing by the rules: ethical criteria at an ethical investment fund’. Business Ethics, 8 (1): 60–69.
15. Cullity, M., 1985–1986. ‘Liability of beneficiaries—a rejoinder’. Estates and Trusts Quarterly, 7: 35–52.
16. Dobris, J. C., 2008. ‘SRI—shibboleth or canard (socially responsible investing, that is)’. Real Property and Trust Journal, 42: 755–797.
17. Doyle, R. J., 1998. Advisory Opinion, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration Washington, DC: Office of Regulations and Interpretations. (28 May)
18. Eaton, L., 1991. ‘Corporate couch potatoes: the awful truth about boards of directors’. Barron's, 24: 22–24. December
19. Fair Pensions. 2006. UK Pension Scheme Transparency on Social, Environmental and Ethical Issues London: Fair Pensions.
20. Flannigan, R., 2004. ‘Fiduciary duties of shareholders and directors’. Journal of Business Law,: 277–302. (May)
21. Flannigan, R., 2006. ‘The political path to limited liability in business trusts’. Advocates Quarterly, 31 (3): 257–292.
22. Flannigan, R., 2009. ‘The core nature of fiduciary accountability’. New Zealand Law Review, 3: 375–429.
23. Fraser, A., 1998. Reinventing Aristocracy: The Constitutional Reformation of Corporate Governance Ashgate: Farnham.
24. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. 2005. A Legal Framework for the Integration of Environmental, Social and Governance Issues into Institutional Investment Geneva: United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative.
25. Fung, A., Hebb, T., and Rogers, J., eds. 2001. Working Capital: The Power of Labor's Pensions Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
26. Gates, J., 1998. The Ownership Solution: Toward a Shared Capitalism for the 21st Century Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing.
27. Gay, G., and Klaassen, J. A., 2005. ‘Retirement investment, fiduciary obligations, and socially responsible investing’. Journal of Deferred Compensation, 10 (4): 34–49.
28. Gifford, J., 2004. ‘Measuring the social, environmental and ethical performance of pension funds’. Journal of Australian Political Economy, 53: 139–160.
29. Gribben, C., and Faruk, A., 2004. Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Trustees—2004 London: UK Social Investment Forum.
30. Gribben, C., and Gitsham, M., 2006. Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Trustees London: UK Social Investment Forum.
31. Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Fund (GNZSF). 2007. Responsible Investment Policy, Standards and Procedures Auckland: GNZSF.
32. Gutmann, A., and Thompson, D., 2002. ‘Deliberative democracy beyond process’. Journal of Political Philosophy, 10 (2): 153–174.
33. Hawley, J. P., and Williams, A., 2000. The Rise of Fiduciary Capitalism Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
34. Hebb, T., 2008. No Small Change: Pension Funds and Corporate Engagement Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
35. Hess, D., 2005. ‘Protecting and politicizing public pension fund assets: empirical evidence on the effects of governance structures and practices’. University of California-Davis Law Review, 39 (1): 187–227.
36. Hudson, A., 2007. “ ‘The regulation of trustees’, in: ”. In Contemporary Perspectives on Property, Equity, and Trusts Law Edited by: Dixon, M., and Griffiths, G., 163–180. New York: Oxford University Press.
37. Kanzer, A., 2009. “ ‘The use of shareholder proposals to address corporate human rights performance’, in: ”. In Finance for a Better World: The Shift toward Sustainability Edited by: de Bettignies, H. C., and Lépineux, F., 71–89. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
38. Langbein, J. H., and Posner, R. A., 1980. ‘Social investing and the law of trusts’. Michigan Law Review, 79 (1): 72–112.
39. Lawrence, S., and Macklem, P., 2000. ‘From consultation to reconciliation: Aboriginal rights and the crown's duty to consult’. Canadian Bar Review, 79: 252–279.
40. Lewis, A., and Mackenzie, C., 2000. ‘Morals, money, ethical investing and economic psychology’. Human Relations, 53 (2): 179–191.
41. Lewis, A., and Webley, P., 1994. “ ‘Social and ethical investing: beliefs, preferences and the willingness to sacrifice financial return’, in: ”. In Ethics and Economic Affairs Edited by: Lewis, A., and Wärneryd, K. E., 171–182. London: Routledge.
42. Llewellyn, D., 2004. “ Issues in the Governance of Mutuals in the Financial Sector ”. In Paper commissioned for the Myners enquiry into Governance of Life Mutuals London: H.M. Treasury.
43. Marcoux, A., 2005. ‘A fiduciary argument against stakeholder theory’. Journal of Business Ethics, 13 (1): 1–24.
44. Martin, W., 2009. ‘Socially responsible investing: is your fiduciary duty at risk?’. Journal of Business Ethics, 90: 549–560.
45. McLachlan, J., and Gardner, J., 2004. ‘A comparison of socially responsible and conventional investors’. Journal of Business Ethics, 52: 11–25.
46. Mercer Investment Consulting. 2005. A Climate for Change—A Trustee's Guide to Understanding and Addressing Climate Risk Toronto: Mercer Investment Consulting.
47. Moffat, G., Bean, G., and Dewar, J., 2005. Trusts Law: Texts and Materials, 4th edn Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
48. Monks, R., and Minow, N., 1991. Power and Accountability New York: Harper Collins.
49. Nilsson, J., 2008. ‘Investment with a conscience: examining the impact of pro-social attitudes and perceived financial performance on socially responsible investment behaviour’. Journal of Business Ethics, 83 (2): 307–325.
50. Nolan, R., 2006. ‘The continuing evolution of shareholder governance’. Cambridge Law Journal, 65: 92–127.
51. Ontario Law Reform Commission. 1984. Report on the Law of Trusts Toronto: Ministry of the Attorney General.
52. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPPB). 2005. Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Socially Responsible Investment Toronto: OTPPB.
53. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2004. Recommendation on Core Principles of Occupational Pension Regulation Paris: OECD.
54. Pateman, C., 1970. Participation and Democratic Theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
55. Peritore, P., 1999. Third World Environmentalism: Case Studies from the Global South Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
56. Quarter, J., Carmichael, I., Sousa, J., and Elgie, S., 2001. ‘Social investment by union-based pension funds and labour-sponsored investment funds in Canada’. Industrial Relations, 56 (1): 92–115.
57. Richardson, B. J., 2007a. ‘Do the fiduciary duties of pension funds hinder socially responsible investment?’. Banking and Finance Law Review, 22 (2): 145–201.
58. Richardson, B. J., 2007b. ‘Protecting indigenous peoples through socially responsible investment’. Indigenous Law Journal, 6 (1): 206–234.
59. Richardson, B. J., 2008. Socially Responsible Investment Law: Regulating the Unseen Polluters New York: Oxford University Press.
60. Richardson, B. J., 2009. ‘Keeping ethical investment ethical: regulatory issues for investing for sustainability’. Journal of Business Ethics, 87 (4): 555–572.
61. Richardson, B. J., and Razzaque, J., 2006. “ ‘Public participation in environmental decision-making’, in: ”. In Environmental Law for Sustainability Edited by: Richardson, B. J., and Wood, S., 165–194. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
62. Rosen, B., Sandler, D., and Shani, D., 1991. ‘Social issues and socially responsible investment behavior: a preliminary empirical investigation’. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 25: 221–234.
63. Sandberg, J., 2010. Socially Responsible Investment and Fiduciary Duty: Putting the Freshfields Report into Perspective., Sustainable Investment and Corporate Governance Working Papers No 2010/3 Umea: Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research.
64. Scott, A. W., and Fratcher, W., 1988. The Law of Trusts, 3rd edn Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
65. Serota, S., and Brodie, F., 1995. ERISA Fiduciary Law Arlington: BNA Books.
66. Spyke, N., 1999. ‘Public participation in environmental decision-making at the new millennium: structuring new spheres of public influence’. Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, 26: 263–313.
67. Stewart, F., and Yermo, J., 2008. Pension Fund Governance: Challenges and Potential Solutions., Working Papers on Insurance and Private Pensions No. 18 Paris: OECD.
68. Taylor, S., 1986. Public Employee Retirement Systems: The Structure and Politics of Teacher Pensions Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
69. Thornton, R., 2008. ‘Ethical investments: a case of disjointed thinking’. Cambridge Law Journal, 67 (2): 396–422.
70. United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI). 2009. Fiduciary Responsibility: Legal and Practical Aspects of Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance Issues into Institutional Investment Geneva: Asset Management Working Group, UNEPFI.
71. United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) and UK Social Investment Forum. 2007. Responsible Investment in Focus: How Leading Public Pension Funds are Meeting the Challenge Geneva: UNEPFI.
72. Watt, G., 2006. Trusts and Equity, 2nd edn Oxford: Oxford University Press.
73. Waygood, S., 2006. Capital Market Campaigning: The Impact of NGOs on Companies, Shareholder Value and Reputational Risk London: Risk Books.
74. Weststar, J., and Verma, A., 2007. ‘What makes for effective labor representation on pension boards?’. Labor Studies Journal, 32 (4): 382–410.
75. Williams, C. A., and Conley, J., 2005. ‘Corporate social responsibility in the international context: is there an emerging fiduciary duty to consider human rights?’. University of Cincinnati Law Review, 74 (Fall): 75–104.
76. Williams, C. A., and Conley, J., 2007. ‘Triumph or tragedy: the curious path of corporate disclosure reform in the UK’. William and Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, 31 (2): 317–361.
77. Williams, G., 2007. ‘Some determinants of the socially responsible investment decision: a cross-country study’. Journal of Behavioral Finance, 8 (1): 43–57.
78. Woods, C., 2009. Funding Climate Change: How Pension Fund Fiduciary Duty Masks a Collective (In)Action Problem. Oxford: School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University. Working paper
79. Zimmerman, M., 1994. Contesting Earth's Future: Radical Ecology and Postmodernity Berkeley: University of California Press.