Socially responsible investment industry appears to be condoning violent hate speech.
Washington DC (PRWEB) October 20, 2005 – Action Fund Management LLC (AFM), investment adviser to the Free Enterprise Action Fund (www.FreeEnterpriseActionFund.com), asked the socially responsible investment (SRI) industry to take a firm stand against violent hate speech by refusing to sponsor and participate in the TBLI Conference scheduled to take place in Frankfurt, Germany, November 2-4, 2005.
“The TBLI conference features a speaker, Max Keiser of KarmaBanque.com, who recently advocated violence against the principals of the Free Enterprise Action Fund merely because we hold views different from his,” said AFM’s Steve Milloy. “We are urging the SRI industry to not condone his incitements to violence by participating in the conference alongside Keiser and, in effect, sweeping this incident under the rug.”
The Free Enterprise Action Fund (FEAF) is a mutual fund seeking to provide investors with financial returns while persuading companies to focus on increasing shareholder value and profits rather than appeasing outside activists.
The Brooklyn Bridge/TBLI Group is organizing the Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI) Conference. In a September 28 podcast originally posted on the web site KarmaBanque.com, Keiser denounced the FEAF as an “appeaser to global warming and climate change terrorists” and said, with respect to the principals of the FEAF, “I think the kids, the children of these people, should knife them.” (1)
Keiser has not only failed to retract his comments, he continues to attack FEAF’s principals for more merely voicing their objections to his advocacy of violence.
“We have asked the conference adviser, the Brooklyn Bridge/TBLI Group, and conference sponsors and participants to take a stand against Mr. Keiser’s violent hate speech but to no avail,” said AFM’s Tom Borelli.
Sponsors asked by AFM to withdraw from the conference include: Calvert Investments, KLD Research and Analytics, and SRI World Group and the Social Investment Forum.
Speakers asked by AFM to withdraw include: William K. Reilly, former EPA administrator (1989-1993) and chairman of the World Wildlife Fund; Ms. Barbara Krumsiek, President and CEO of Calvert Funds, Mike Mitchell of Chiquita Brands; and Winston Hickox, portfolio manager, CalPERS.
“We’ve also asked the directors and trustees of Calvert and the Social Investment Forum to take a stand on this matter, including: Tim Smith, Senior Vice President and Director of Socially Responsive Investment at Walden Asset Management; Susan Babcock of the Socially Responsive Investment Group at Rockefeller & Co; Rebecca Adamson, founder of First Nations Development Institute (FNDI); Frank Coleman, Executive Vice President of Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc.; Thomas Kuh, Director of Business Development at KLD Research & Analytics Inc.; Cheryl Smith, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at Trillium Asset Management Corporation; Ariane van Buren, the Senior Project Manager of the Corporate Governance Program at the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES); and Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder, Children's Defense Fund.
"Our requests have been stonewalled by all of the conference sponsors and participants with the exception of Calvert who said they would 'forward (FEAF’s) concerns to the conference organizer,'" said Milloy. “But we didn’t ask them to forward FEAF's concerns. In our view, this is simply Calvert’s way of ignoring our request to take decisive action based on what should be Calvert's concerns also,” added Milloy.
“We plan to keep contacting folks in the SRI industry until we find someone who is willing to take a stand against violent hate speech,” said Borelli.
The Free Enterprise Action Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through investment and advocacy that promote the American system of free enterprise. An investor should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing or sending money. This and other important information about the Free Enterprise Action Fund can be found in the fund's prospectus. To obtain a prospectus, please call 1-800-766-3960 or visit www.FreeEnterpriseActionFund.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Equity securities (stocks) are more volatile and carry more risk than other forms of investments, including investments in high-grade fixed income securities. The net asset value per share of this Fund will fluctuate as the value of the securities in the portfolio changes. The Free Enterprise Action Fund is a new fund with limited investment history and there is no guarantee that it will achieve its investment objectives.
The Free Enterprise Action Fund is advised by Action Fund Management, LLC., which receives a fee for its services, and is distributed by BISYS Fund Services Limited Partnership, which is not affiliated with Action Fund Management, LLC.
References:
1. The podcast was originally posted at http://karmabanqueradio.blogspot.com/2005/09/le-fric-show-29-september-2005.html , but has since been removed. A copy was made and is available as an mp3 file at http://www.junkscience.com/KARMABanque_Podcast_092805.mp3.
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