A new collaboration - EIG-GIVE-CIRQC - continued

Michael Pinsonneault

Who knew there was not just one but three Montreal-based, volunteer-run investment clubs devoted to responsible investing?

The three clubs – EIG, GIVE (Groupe d’investissemrent végane et éthique) and CIRQC (Club d’investissemrent responsable du Québec) – have been exploring possibilities for collaboration and recently got the ball rolling with an in-person joint event. This took the form of a panel discussion presenting key similarities and differences between the three clubs, held at Chez Ernest, a bistro in a ‘happening’ part of the Petite-Patrie area: Investing Responsibly with an Investment Club.

The panel – myself from EIG, ex-EIG member Julien Hivon from GIVE and Solenne Daigle from CIRQC – got behind the mics on a stage that, at other times, features live musical acts. We presented the main features of our clubs and followed with a lively Q&A. Thanks to the efficiency and technical know-how of moderator Bano Diallo from GIVE, everything moved along at a cracking pace, keeping attendees engaged and interested.

The Clubs

EIG

For my part, I explained EIG’s model by tracing its origins:  founded in 1998 by Ken Thorpe, a financial advisor, who had become enthusiastic about Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), an area in its infancy as the first ethical mutual funds were becoming available. Ken transmitted his enthusiasm to his clients, many of whom were professionals working in fields related to environmentalism and social justice, the upshot being the formation of an SRI club as a partnership. Co-founder Marthanne Robson, a lawyer, drafted a Partnership Agreement and the rest, as they say, is history. Key features of the Partnership Agreement are still in force today, 24 years later:

• One member, one vote, regardless of amount contributed (between $150 and $900 per quarter).

• Two types of investment: stocks (60%) and community, focused on micro-lending(40%), handled by separate investment committees.

• Volunteer-run, no fees; essential services like accounting paid for from the communal “pot”.

• No board of directors; activities overseen by an executive committee of up to 7 members, including treasurer and secretary.

• Goal: to demonstrate that responsible investing can be profitable.

GIVE

Co-founded by a former EIG member, GIVE follows the same model and tenets as EIG, only with an emphasis on organizations whose products and processes have minimal negative impact on animal life. It is only a few years old, holding 8 stocks and plans to expand into community investment.

CIRQC

CIRQC follows an interestingly different model. Organized as a not-for-profit club, it has more than 100 members – mostly young professionals working in the financial sector – who pay a small annual fee. The membership contributions, along with those of corporate sponsors such as Desjardins, Covalence and Finance Montréal, form a pool of capital that is invested in a small number of stocks (7 at present) that meet ethical standards. These are thoroughly researched by the group’s investment committee, and any dividends are donated to charitable organizations.

Questions

Among the many questions asked, the following sampling stood out:

What are the clubs’ approaches to “ethical investing?

The bottom line for all three is to give people the opportunity to have their money do good in the economy and society as a whole.

• EIG has a mission statement that includes investing in companies that play a key role in an environmentally-sustainable and socially-equitable economy, and in organizations that support disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

• GIVE’s approach is similar, while working towards a planet less exploitative of animals is more central.

• CIRQC is motivated predominantly by the desire to learn how the workings of the investment world can be moved more quickly in the direction of ethical criteria and standards.

How, concretely, are investment decisions made?

All three clubs have one or more committees that research potential investments. Committee members are generally lay volunteers, not financial professionals.

• EIG has two committees, one for stocks and one for community investments. Candidates are flagged in various ways -- word of mouth; articles in the media; etc – and are first discussed by the relevant committee. If deemed promising, the committee drafts a detailed proposal, including pros and any cons (risk in particular), which is distributed to the entire membership for a vote. If approved, the committee may go ahead with the investment, though in the case of stocks it may wait for a more favourable time to purchase.

• GIVE functions in a similar fashion for its stocks, community investment having yet to be developed.

• CIRQC has the most rigorous process of the three for researching, evaluating and investing in the half-dozen-or-so stocks normally held in its portfolio, something the two other groups expressed interest in learning more about.

Do you have a “target audience”?

While GIVE has a very specific target audience (vegans) for attracting members and CIRQC has a very much broader reach, EIG’s membership is capped at 50 for regulatory reasons. For this reason, EIG has grown organically, by word-of-mouth, rather than by actively recruiting, to include a diverse membership of lawyers, educators, consultants, arts professionals, researchers, translators, entrepreneurs, students and retirees.

It goes without saying that all three groups are interested in reaching out to anyone concerned with the environment and social well-being, and how investing can contribute positively to both. It is to be hoped that events such as this one will increase awareness of our activities.

In conclusion, what a pleasure it was for us all to get to know and chat with other like-minded individuals and to realize we are not alone in trying to make the world a better place.

To be continued…

… as representatives of the three clubs discuss potential for further collaboration. If you have any ideas on how this could play out, please add them in the Comments (sorry, accessible to EIG members only). We’d love to hear from you.