Cambridge, ON//December 1, 2006// Meritas Mutual Funds announced today that it has engaged Vancouver-based Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE) to help launch the most comprehensive shareholder action program in its history. The issues that Meritas Mutual Funds will address cover some of the most pressing concerns for Canadians. Sustainability reporting and human rights will be among the topics that Meritas Mutual Funds will discuss with the senior management of some of Canada’s largest publicly-traded companies.
Meritas Mutual Funds is one of Canada’s leading providers of Socially Responsible Investments (SRI). As such, it is always encouraging the companies in its mutual funds to look at how they can improve their overall financial performance by improving their social and environmental performance. “Having an ongoing dialogue with the senior management of the companies in our portfolio has always been an integral part of SRI at Meritas Mutual Funds,” says Gary Hawton, Chief Executive Officer. “Since the goal of Meritas Mutual Funds is to invest in the companies that represent the best blend of financial, environmental, social and governance policies and procedures, we want to provide the management of these companies with insight into the best practices in these areas. We think that can add value and reduce risk for our shareholders,” adds Hawton.
“We are pleased to have Meritas Mutual Funds as a leading client for our shareholder engagement activities,” said Peter Chapman, Executive Director of SHARE. “By making this commitment to better dialogue with the companies that they own, Meritas Mutual Funds is demonstrating real leadership in the areas of corporate social responsibility and responsible investing.”
Socially responsible investors look for ways to incorporate their social, ethical and environmental concerns into their investment portfolios. In addition to their positive social and environmental impact, most studies show that over the long term, SRIs do not sacrifice financial performance.
Meritas Mutual Funds are available through investment advisors across Canada. More information on Meritas can be found on its website (www.meritas.ca or www.srifunds.ca).
About Meritas Mutual Funds: Meritas is devoted solely to creating and marketing socially responsible investments under the brand name Meritas Mutual Funds. Committed to all three aspects of socially responsible investing, Meritas uses positive and negative screening guidelines, shareholder activism and community development investments to help people align their investments with their social, ethical and environmental concerns.
About SHARE: SHARE is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing leadership on responsible investment policy and practice both in Canada and globally. SHARE’s Shareholder Engagement Programme assists institutional investors in implementing responsible investment practices by providing clients with high quality social and environmental research as well as expertise in conducting shareholder engagement dialogues with publicly traded Canadian corporations.
Please visit SHARE’s website at www.share.ca for more information.
