About Us
Our Background
Ethical Investment Advisers is made up of three financial planners: Louise Edkins, Karen McLeod and Terry Pinnell. Originally from traditional financial planning backgrounds, we all realised that we wanted to help our clients invest their money ethically, whilst still receiving a solid return.
Advisers Louise Edkins and Terry Pinnell, were among the pioneers of ethical investment advice during the 1990s. In 2004, they decided to establish Ethical Investment Advisers, so that they could offer specialist advice on ethical investing. Since then, Karen McLeod has moved her practice to Ethical Investment Advisers.
Our Vision
We are passionate about offering advice on ethical investment choices to all investors. At present, we help clients all over Australia and overseas. Everyone should be able invest according to their values!
Our vision is to help all investors incorporate their values with their investment objectives. By integrating the social, environmental and financial aspects of an investment, we believe that a more sustainable investment return is possible.
To increase awareness of ethical investment in Australia we have an active involvement with Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA). Karen McLeod is currently a board member of RIAA and she also sits on the Certification Committee. Louise Edkins & Terry Pinnell were charter members of RIAA and Louise also held a board position and the role of Treasurer during the early 2000s.
We hold briefings and investor information nights on a regular basis to update our clients on new ethical investments. We also compile a bi-monthly newsletter which updates our clients about ethical investment news.
Our aim is to achieve best practice in dealings with all our stakeholders and to run a sustainable financial service licence.
Our Environmental Practices
As a group, we are doing our bit for the environment including:
Energy Saving
We offset carbon from cars, airfares and office heating/cooling with Greenfleet. We use solar hot water, solar panels, low energy lights and insulation to reduce our energy consumption. We also buy green power and have planted trees on the western side of our offices to reduce heat.
Recycling
We recycle all of our waste paper, plastics and metals and recycle food waste as compost.
Water Saving
We use water tanks and low water use toilets and showers to reduce our water usage. We also recycle grey water and use mulching to reduce water loss in our gardens.
Environmental Impact
We lower our environmental impact by using recycled envelopes and paper, use scrap paper for internal printing, double-sided printing for report printing and use E-mail as much as possible internally and in communication with our clients. We also provide showers and changing rooms for staff to promote riding or walking to work and all of our staff work close to or at home to reduce travelling.
Our Code of Ethics
In addition to giving advice on ethical investments, we also have a strong code of ethics:
Client First — Place the client’s interests first at all times.
Integrity — Provide professional services with integrity.
Objectivity — Provide professional services objectively.
Fairness — Be fair and reasonable in all professional relationships. Disclose and manage conflicts of interest.
Professionalism — Act in a manner that demonstrates exemplary professional conduct.
Competence — Maintain the abilities, skills and knowledge necessary to provide professional services competently, by continuous ongoing education.
Confidentiality — Protect the confidentiality of all client information.
Diligence — Provide professional services diligently.
Reasonable Fees — Provide all our services at a fair and reasonable rates.
Availability — Be available to clients as much as possible, through email, phone and personal contact.
Environment — Endeavour to be environmentally aware in our dealings.
Governance — Be open and transparent in all our governance issues.
Social — Be a good corporate citizen and involve ourselves in the local community.
Employment — Be fair with our dealings with all our staff and any external service providers.
Philanthropy
As a company Ethical Investment Advisers (EIA) likes to walk the talk and we have taken the decision to use some of the profits from our company to help improve the environment and help in a socially responsible manner.
Bush Heritage Australia
To that end EIA has made a donation to the Bush Heritage Australia (BHA) to help it buy land with high conservation values and then to look after that land. BHA now has almost 1 million hectares of land purchased and being protected.
BHA also has partnerships with other landowners who want to preserve the environmental values of their land and this represents another 2.5 million hectares of land under protection.
The group also works with indigenous groups to help conserve aboriginal lands and help to indigenous groups acquire more land with conservation values. The long term goal of BHA is to protect 7 million hectares of Australia by the year 2025.
The group survives on individual and corporate donations, volunteers and bequests. Any donation over $2.00 can be claimed as a tax deduction.
You can find out about BHA on their website http://www.bushheritage.org.au/about
Good Return
We have also made some loans to women in the Asia Pacific who are trying to start up small businesses. The loans have been made through an organisation called Good Return (GR).
The organisation sources women looking for assistance to set small businesses and ‘investors’ who will give them micro-finance to get started. Many of the loans can be under $100 and in many cases there might be 4 or 5 donors who will make up the loan.
The group also helps educate the women, so that they develop skills to run a business, some are unable to read or write and are not numerate, so GR help them with basic literacy and numeracy, budgeting etc. GR also arrange vocational training so that woman can learn new skills and new ways to potentially earn money.
We have helped 6 women; 2 are from Nepal, 1 from the Philippines, 2 are from East Timor and 1 is from Tonga.
You can also make donations to assist others to earn an income, and donations over $2.00 can be claimed as a tax deduction.
EIA thought that by making it a loan, the money can be recycled over and over again and help far more people over time.
Good returns goal for 2012 is connect Australian women (and men too) to share their good fortune with other poor women in the Asia Pacific area.
It has been found by micro-finance companies over time that women taking loans are more likely to repay them and the money will be used for purpose.
If you want to find out more about Good Return the website is: