Defining ethical investment and its demography in Australia

While ethical investment is relatively new in Australia, it is a well defined phenomenon in the United States and United Kingdom, subject to variations in interpretation in its practical implementation. Characteristics of ethical investment decision-making suggest ethical investors may be demographically different from "ordinary" investors. This descriptive paper reports on a survey of equity investors in Australia, comparing the average investor and an ethical investor. The main findings are that there is evidence of a strong gender effect, with females predominating among ethical investors, and that these investors are relatively young, highly educated and possessing small portfolios.