Telegraph Ethical 10: our favourite ‘good’ funds

stocks but holds companies the manager believes will make the world more sustainable.

Peter Michaelis has been running this strategy since 2001 and defines sustainable as companies involved in themes that will change the global economy for the better. This includes resource efficiency, healthcare and human safety. Since launch, the fund has returned 191pc – beating a 156pc rise in the FTSE All Share index and an average return of 143pc for all British company funds. since 2005, with co-manager Sashi Reddy joining in 2011, they are one of the more experienced management teams investing in the region.

Investors have not had to compromise returns. The £316m fund has returned 254pc in the past decade, more than double the performance of its peers (115pc) and the MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan index (118pc).

This fund solely invests in bonds and has a two-pronged process: it uses a “negative” screen to filter out companies deemed unethical then applies a “positive” screen to select the companies doing the most good in the world. Manager Bryn Jones, who has run the portfolio since 2004, looks for bonds that have a high yield but that are also “investment grade”, issued by the best-rated companies.

It has returned 103pc over 10 years.

This fund combines both stocks and bonds and has been managed by Mike Fox since its launch in 2009.

The manager buys companies that make a positive contribution to the world or are at the forefront of environmental issues. He has the same search criteria for bonds but also looks for those that are out of favour and so have a higher yield. Since launch, it has been the best performer among its peers, returning 237pc versus 92pc for its rivals.

This exchange-traded fund is a passive fund that follows an index dedicated to putting more money into stocks that have a better gender balance than average. The index company, Solactive, only includes Our list of favourite funds Best for long-term gains businesses that have good workforce equality between men and women, provide parental benefits and have a low gender pay gap. It invests in companies around the world and since it launched in February 2019 has provided the same 20pc return as the global stock market.

This exchange-traded fund provides investors with access to the lucrative American stock market but removes companies deemed “unethical” or not “socially responsible”, based on research done by index provider MSCI. This excludes stocks involved in nuclear power, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, armaments and pornography.

Since the fund launched in July 2016 it has beaten the American market average, returning 64pc versus 53pc for the MSCI USA index.