The Handbook on Responsible Investment Across Asset Classes, a guide written for institutional asset owners, money managers, consultants, and others, is now available from the Social Investment Organization.

The handbook, published by the Institute for Responsible Investment (IRI) at Boston College in the US, provides guidance on socially responsible investment across the full range of asset classes.

"As investment in alternative asset classes (real estate, private equity, hedge funds, etc.) and the importance of diversification become increasingly accepted by pension funds, money managers, university and foundation endowments, and others, a question arises: How can investors identify and incorporate social and environmental information across their portfolios?," states the IRI.

According to the IRI, the aim of the Handbook is to help investors:

• Incorporate responsible investment methods into their investment mandate;
• Identify and evaluate opportunities for responsible investment; and
• Coordinate the vocabulary and metrics used to measure social and environmental outcomes.

Each chapter of the Handbook focuses on a single asset class- cash equivalents, public equities, fixed-income, real estate, private equity, hedge funds, and commodities-identifying key issues and challenges for responsible investment, including real-world examples of responsible investment underway in each area.

The Handbook was published in November, 2007.  After reviewing it, the SIO has endorsed it, and is making it available to its members.

"As socially responsible investment grows in experience, it is becoming apparent that there is an SRI option in each asset category available to investors,"said Eugene Ellmen, Executive Director of the SIO.  "This Handbook clarifies the issues for investors, and sets out the options in a simple, straightforward manner."

Copies of the Handbook are available from the SIO, or are available for download from:

http://www.bcccc.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=1869

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