A recent study has revealed that 63% of investors do not know whether the activities of industries or companies in which they are investing are living up to their own ethical standards or not.

Research conducted by Opinium on behalf of Tridos Bank last month, consisting of 2,000 online interviews of whom 1,000 have some sort of investment product, found them at risk of investing in companies or industries to which they were personally opposed. The survey did not target high-net-worth individuals but might nonetheless have a bearing on their habits also.

Human trafficking, pornography, slavery and child labour topped the list of investment turn-offs. The survey also found that 71% of investors wanted to invest more heavily in environmental and social sectors, especially renewable energy. Only one-quarter knew whether their investments fitted their ethical outlook.

Many respondents made their investments through government pension funds and ISAs, disqualifying themselves from the HNW category. Nonetheless, for those who want to know it, are the practices that they said would stop them from investing financially in a particular company, fund or pension. The top five are:

• Human trafficking - 70%
• Forced or child labour – 67%
• Pornography – 49%
• Animal testing – 45%
• Arms and munitions – 41%

Almost half (46%) of investors wanted their pensions or investment products to be invested in renewable energy, while 43% wanted to see it being invested in healthcare.

A big part of the problem, according to Tridos Bank, is that it should be much easier for the investors to find out which companies and activities their money is financing so they can make informed decisions.