“Global Finance and the role of Responsible Investors: Real and potential”. In Responsible Investment in Times of Turmoil. Eds: W. Vandekerckhove et al. Springer Publishers. 2011.

The socially responsible investment (SRI) phenomenon is said to be entering the mainstream of financial intermediation. From a fairly marginal practice promoted or campaigned for by NGO’s and at odds with financial practice and orthodoxy it grew into well formulated policy adopted by a wide range of investors. Academic literature on SRI has also boomed on the assumption that mainstreaming is taking place. However, little thinking has been carried out on questions specifically arising from this alleged ‘mainstreaming’. This book, addressed to those with a scholarly or practitioner’s interest in SRI, starts filling this neglected dimension.

The first chapter of this book by Steve Waddell describes the global financial system in terms of major institutions with maps. It identifies the current role of responsible investors, and suggests options for them to enhance their influence.