Hearing the Humane Society of the United States teaming up with Folio so investors can now filter companies involved with factory farms that may be overcrowding and mistreating their livestock is really excellent news.
Significance
Animals have always played an important role in agriculture, in supplying humanity’s food. They also help recycle nutrients and add to soil fertility.
In recent decades as humanity’s population has grown immensely, animal industry has needed to keep pace. In the United States, animals are raised in confinement on industrialized systems that are more like factories than farms.
Additionally, feeding animals a diet that includes antibiotics, additives, hormones or pesticide-treated vegetation persistently raise questions on their link to longevity, human health and chronic illnesses like cancer and diabetes. Many consumers today prefer to consume meat that are more sustainably and humanely raised, as a result.
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“We are very interested in allowing people to invest in a way that alligns with their values,” said Greg Vigrass, president of Folio Institutional. “Working with filters for investments has always been in our DNA and we recently stepped up the commitment.”
The Humane Society maintains a list of firms that engage in factory farming. Folio can cross reference investors’ portfolios with that list to screen out the firms that use factory farms. Folio uses a number of screens that investors can use to incorporate their philosophies into their investing, Vigrass said.
The screens can also be used so that investors do not become overconcentrated in a particular industry or market. More screens can be added any time advisors and investors show an interest.
Morgan Stanley is experiencing the same trend. “We are seeing evidence that investors are increasingly looking to financial service providers” to help them hone their investments to fit their philosophy, says Eva Zlotnicka, a Morgan Stanley analyst covering global sustainable and responsible investing research.
More food companies are paying attention to animal welfare issues and where their food comes from, which casts a favorable light on their performance outlook, Morgan Stanley said in a recent report.
