But Brigid Benson, principal of Global & Ethical Investment Advice (GÆIA), disagrees. 'Our claim is not to put the world to rights tomorrow,' she says. 'We simply attempt to insert stronger human values into the practices of big corporations.'

Central America

A graduate in French and Spanish, Brigid lived for a time in Central America after leaving the University of London. It was the early '80s, and the full effects of Ronald Reagan's Latin American foreign policy were beginning to take their toll. 'I was translating for 'the Mothers of the Disappeared', she recalls, 'and interpreting for people who have been tortured fills you with admiration for them.'

Death squads

Having seen at first-hand the consequences of the exploitation and abuses of the developing world, she went to work for a human rights pressure group [ El Salvador Human Rights Campaign ] upon returning to Britain.

Good versus greed

'Thatcher wanted us all to become little capitalists and hoped that people would go for what would give them the greatest return, but I suddenly realised where much of our money was going to be invested - the arms trade, tobacco companies, etc. More and more people wanted to have a say in where their money was going, and I saw the potential of ethical and environmental investment advice.'

Her husband was then offered a job in Manchester, and so Brigid came with him and set up GÆIA.
'Insurance companies and financial institutions saw that ethical investors tended to be very well informed and highly educated people who wanted value for money. But they also care about the wider world. They're looking ahead, because they want quality jobs for their children and their grandchildren.'

Today, GÆIA is a thriving enterprise whose expansion saw them move to larger premises. But it wasn't always like that.
'Ten to fifteen years ago,the industry treated the ethical investment side of the market as a cinderella sector.'

Times might change, but in the end, it's the money that does the talking. Britons have over £6bn invested in screened funds, and it is now a legal requirement for fund managers to consider the ethical issues when investing their members' hard-earned funds.

'For our long-term survival, the words ethical and investment have to go together. People don't want sudden change, because that's threatening. But on the other hand, if it's too slow or imperceptible, then people may wonder if they're making a difference. I hope that what we're involved with is making a difference, but that it will ultimately benefit us all.'