What Are the Best Ethical Investment Funds?

Brean says

The Schroder Global Sustainable Value Equity fund offers a competitive blend of high performance with a notable positive impact on the world.

It’s a high-performing ethical investment that has returned an impressive 73.1%* over the past 5 years. As well as being a substantial return in its own right, this fund significantly outpaced the benchmark, which returned 53.3% over the same period.

Currently, the Schroder Global Sustainable Value Equity fund invests at least 80% of its assets in companies worldwide that adhere to its values and sustainability framework.

The fund managers use a robust screening process and only permit companies that make a positive contribution to:

• The planet: companies dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which helps slow down climate change.
• People: companies making contributions to employee wellbeing, customer wellbeing as well as fostering healthy, inclusive and connected communities
• Effective and accountable institutions: companies promoting financial stability, which supports people’s prosperity and financial security.

These strong ethical standards, combined with the high returns the fund generates, earned it an exceptional ISS ESG rating of 5 out of 5 stars.

This fund offers good value for money overall, charging a competitive OCF fee of 0.79% – which covers managing the fund.

*correct at the time of writing 26/6/25

Brean says

The Royal London Global Sustainable Equity fund posted a strong 5-year performance. It generated a healthy return of 65.5%* over that period – outpacing the benchmark, which achieved a return of 53.3%.

Royal London demonstrates a commitment to upholding strong ethical standards with this fund. Companies are rigorously screened according to the investment managers’ ethical and sustainable policy. Only those that are making a positive contribution towards a cleaner, healthier, safer and more inclusive society are included.

This fund also expressly excludes companies that are involved in the following:

• Adult entertainment
• Alcohol
• Animal welfare
• Armaments
• Fossil fuels
• Gambling
• High environmental impact
• Human rights breaches
• Nuclear power
• Nuclear weapons
• Tobacco

With such a strong commitment to upholding ethical standards and its strong investment performance, this fund earned an ISS ESG rating of 4 stars out of 5.

This fund offers the lowest OCF fee of all of our top picks at 0.72% making this fund an attractive option, especially when coupled with its substantial return history.

*correct at the time of writing 26/6/25

Brean says

The Janus Henderson Global Sustainable Equity fund posted a strong 5-year performance. It generated a substantial return of 65%* during that time, surpassing the benchmark of 53.3%.

As well as offering competitive returns, this fund executes a robust ethical policy to ensure the companies it includes contribute to positive environmental or social change.

The fund invests at least 70% of its assets in companies that contribute to positive environmental or social change. It limits the negative impact of companies by avoiding those directly associated with:

• Adult entertainment
• Alcohol
• Animal testing (both cosmetic and pharmaceutical)
• Weapons (both controversial and conventional)
• Fossil fuels
• Fur
• Intensive farming
• Gambling
• Tobacco
• Nuclear Power
• Human stem cell research
• Polluting chemicals

This fund’s dedication to upholding strong ethical values while delivering robust performance earned it an ISS ESG rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

While the Janus Henderson Global Sustainable Equity fund demonstrates attractive returns, it falls short slightly when it comes to overall value for money. It charges an OCF fee of 0.85% which is higher than some of our other top picks.

*correct at the time of writing 26/6/25

Brean says

The Quilter Investors Ethical Equity fund generated an exceptional 5-year return of 84.6%* – far outpacing the benchmark, which earned 53.1%.

It upholds a comprehensive framework to ensure that the companies it invests in demonstrate sound ethical practices.

The fund focuses on investing in companies that promote efficiency in energy, water, resources and food. It excludes companies that are involved in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, animal testing and armaments.

The combination of strong ethical standards and outstanding fund performance earned this fund an ISS ESG rating of 5 out of 5 stars.

While it posts an impressive performance, this fund falls short when it comes to overall value for money. It charges an OCF fee of 0.9% – the highest of our top picks. Which may affect how much of the return you retain in the long term.

*correct at the time of writing 26/6/25

Brean says

The Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth fund upholds a comprehensive ethical investment framework to help you make a positive impact with your money.

Currently, the fund invests at least 70% of its assets in companies that have a positive impact on people and the environment. It uses 22 sustainability trends to help identify the best companies to invest in, such as, improving energy efficiency, making transportation more efficient and improving innovation in healthcare.

It also excludes companies that are involved in controversial activities, including alcohol, animal testing, climate change, deforestation, gambling and weapons.

In terms of performance, this fund generated a healthy 5-year return of 34% – still catching up to the benchmark which sits at 53.3%.

The fund’s stellar ethical investing framework and positive performance earned it a top 5-star ISS ESG rating.

This fund comes with an OCF fee of 0.85%, which can be beaten by some of our other top-rated ethical funds.

*correct at the time of writing 26/6/25