Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust
Socially Responsible Investing

Dawn Wolfe (second from right) of Boston Common Asset Management participates in an investor advocacy visit with Progress Energy and BBT staff in North Carolina in November 2005.

Socially responsible investing allows Brethren Benefit Trust to embody Church of the Brethren values in every investment decision and all of BBT’s investment funds are managed in just such a manner. Socially responsible investors need not sacrifice investment growth in exchange for their religious values because socially responsible portfolios are able to generate returns close to those of the overall markets.

BBT carries out its SRI functions in three broad areas through screening, positive investment, and shareholder activity.

• Screening. The Brethren Benefit Trust Board of Directors maintains investment guidelines for all BBT funds. These guidelines exclude companies that generate 10 percent or more of their revenues from firearms, abortion, defense, gambling, tobacco, alcohol, or pornography. Companies engaging in child labor or slavery practices, as well as companies that consistently violate environmental regulations, are also screened. In addition, the guidelines exclude any company among the 25 largest defense contractors. Through these exclusions, BBT avoids investments in businesses that are in conflict with the social values expressed by the Church of the Brethren. Investment managers are responsible for seeing that their own portfolios are in compliance with these guidelines at all times. The BBT Investment Committee monitors this compliance.
  
  
• Positive Investment. In addition to these “negative screens,” BBT offers a Community Development Investment Fund through which organizations put their resources to work funding affordable housing, micro-lending, and community development efforts. Invested funds are lent through local organizations to borrowers in economically disadvantaged circumstances within the United States and internationally.
  
  
• Shareholder action. As a stockholder, BBT initiates and participates in discussions with corporate managements to encourage the adoption of business practices more likely to promote social justice and to protect and preserve the natural environment. When dialog does not lead to the desired results, sponsoring a shareholder resolution sometimes moves an effort to a new stage. A shareholder resolution represents a direct call to the board of directors to take action in response to its owners’ preferences. Membership in the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a group of 275 faith-based investors, links BBT’s efforts with the knowledge and experience of a much larger group. Members discuss socially responsible initiatives and methods while coordinating efforts on corporate shareholder actions.