Investors' Perceptions of the Relative Importance of Investment Issue

With a view to establishing what issues are important to investors in their investment decision, Australian equity investors asked to assess the relative importance of a range of issues, categorised broadly into "ethical" issues and "corporate goverance" issues. Responses indicate that the ethical issues of most concern to investors are: professional and good business practice, the promotion of Australian made, and encouragement of youth employment. Investors regarded the issues: aboriginal rights, uraniummining and the manufacture or sale of alcohol as being relatively unimportant. With respect to matters of good corporate governance, investors were most concerned with the behaviour of directors; and regarded the failure to conduct a social or environmental audit as being relatively unimportant. These findings indicate, not unexpectedly, the importance to investors of good business practice and the encouragement of employment opportunities, particularly; but a perceived lack of interest in social accounting and environmental issues. In the ranking of some of the issues as being important, investor demographic variables, gender, age, education and wealth, were significant influences, with male investors, higher-educated investors, and more wealthy investors predominating