The investment sector plays a unique role in promoting ethical practices throughout the economy. With well over three trillion dollars invested in socially responsible investments (SRI) worldwide, environmental, social, governance and ethical factors (collectively, 'social impact factors') have a demonstrable impact on investment practices. SRI investors utilize various methods of influencing corporate practice, including social screening of investments, which can ultimately reward positive social impact with greater access to financing.

This paper proposes a method for incorporating social impact factors as a quantitative parameter in investment analysis and a means of facilitating such analysis in practice. These proposals have the potential to integrate social impact factors into quantitative portfolio management techniques that have traditionally been based only on risk and return.

• Microfinance: Getting Money to the Poor or Making Money out of the Poor? (Policy Library)
• The South and Carbondioxide: Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining (Policy Library)
• Ethics or Bust: Beyond Compliance and Good Marketing (Policy Library)
• In Search of Honesty and Altruism (Policy Library)
• When Small Companies Dabble in Disinformation (Policy Library)