While not commenting specifically about Talisman and its presence in Sudan, Krieg said it is difficult as a fund manager with thousands of investors to run a portfolio based on judgments of what is socially responsible. I think there are more shades of gray than black and white. However, U.S. portfolio managers should take a stand in some extreme situations, like the trouble in Sudan, said Amy Domini, president of Domini Social Equity Fund, Boston. We are now in a global economy, and we do not have global structures in place. We do not have a global government.
Investors have a moral imperative to take the high ground.
I'm trying to introduce the concept that there's a difference between making money and stealing money. However, some industry watchers say there's little incentive for money managers to blacklist companies based on social responsibility criteria. Portfolio managers are often hesitant to make investment decisions based on social or moral grounds, because those judgments can affect a fund's primary purpose, which is to make money, said John Nofsinger, a professor of finance at Marquette University, Milwaukee. As far as the investor goes, they want the best portfolio available. However, international political pressure led to financial pressures that spurred the downfall of the apartheid government and the release of South African President Nelson Mandela from prison in the 1980s.