Disclaimer

  • We are not investment advisors and do not provide investment advice; we claim no such expertise.
  • As with all investment decisions, you should work with your financial advisor and do your own homework.
  • Keeping this disclaimer in mind, see the other sections on this webpage for some useful things to consider.

Steps to take

  1. Check your portfolio and ensure you are not investing in companies in Sudan's oil industry. PetroChina (China), Sinopec (China), Petronas (Malaysia), and ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Company, India) are four of the worst offending companies involved with Sudan. For more details and information on other offending companies, see the research of the Sudan Divestment Task Force at SudanDivestment.org.
    • Ask your investment advisor to assess your portfolio and divest from these companies and mutual funds that hold these stocks.
    • Use either of the two mutual fund screening tools, noted below, to quickly check each fund you own or are considering.
    • Note that you need to check your funds' investments periodically since a particular mutual fund may have no offending stocks for one quarterly reporting period, only to change their investments in the next quarter.
  2. Move your money away from the problem investment companies. Only when you move your money will you be delivering a strong message that they will understand. Merely moving your money to a different fund within the problem company will give them evidence that they do not need to change their investing practices! There are many companies eager to have your investment business. Choose one that you consider socially responsible.

    Consider investment firms that have made a commitment to NOT invest in the problem companies.     Save Darfur Coalition maintains a list online here.

    Some mutual fund companies you might consider and check with regarding their investments include:
    • Allianz, including Allianz, NFJ and PIMCO funds - Allianz completely divested its large holdings of PetroChina on the NYSE. Read more here.
    • Janus funds - Janus held no PetroChina, Sinopec, Petronas or ONGC when we last checked.
    • T. Rowe Price funds - As of March 31, 2008, T. Rowe Price completed its sell off of its holdings of PetroChina, Sinopec, ONGC, and Petronas. Previously, they had held a total of about $250 million of these four problem companies..
  3. Move your money in your company's 401k and pension plan. Your options may be limited by the offerings within the structure of the plan. Do what you can to avoid PetroChina, Sinopec, Petronas, and ONGC and to avoid funds from the problem investment companies. Ask the plan administrator to offer alternatives to using funds from these firms, and to register a complaint on behalf of the company and its employees. Click here for suggested 401k actions.
  4. Tell your friends what you did and why. Tell them to get more information at InvestorsAgainstGenocide.org. Use the handouts and other resources on the Campaign Materials page. If you are an organization, publicize what you did and why.
  5. Tell the company. If you leave your mutual fund or investment firm, remember to contact them to let them know why you left.

Screening tools to check for Sudan-related stocks in a mutual fund

Here are two mutual fund screening tools to quickly check a fund you own or are considering:

  • Click here for the screening tool from Calvert.
  • Click here for the screening tool from Invested Interests, hosted by the Sudan Divestment Task Force.

Mutual fund companies


In considering a mutual fund company, talk to their representative about your concerns with PetroChina, Sinopec, Petronas and ONGC, and learn what the company policy is regarding avoiding investments in genocide and about Sudan divestment. If there is a policy, ask for a copy in writing. If you have a problem with a company and its policy, make sure you tell the company that you are dissatisfied with their policy. If you use email, please copy info@InvestorsAgainstGenoicde.org.
  • Since the problem investment companies have made no statement or commitment regarding avoiding investments in genocide or regarding divestment from PetroChina, Sinopec, Petronas and ONGC, investors entrusting their money to those companies' mutual funds continue to risk inadvertently investing in companies that help fund the genocide in Darfur.
  • Look into SRIs. Some mutual fund companies see themselves as socially responsible and will make a commitment to avoid the problem companies involved in Sudan.  You may already know about some of the prominent companies in socially responsible investing (SRI), such as Calvert, Domini, Trillium, Walden Asset Management.  This part of the investment industry is growing and worth looking into.
  • Most mutual fund companies, like Fidelity, will make no statement or commitment regarding Sudan, so investors in those companies' mutual funds risks inadvertently investing in PetroChina and other companies helping to fund the genocide in Darfur.
Consider investigating what is called Socially Responsible Investing. You can search on the web and find a great deal of information. To get started, here are a few ideas.

Brokers

  • There are discount brokerages that compete with the mutual fund companies for brokerage accounts, such as Schwab, Etrade, Firstrade Securities, and Scott Trade.
  • Click here for Consumer Reports' ratings of brokers.
  • You may want to contact one of these or other brokers to determine their offerings and inquire about whether they are Sudan-free.

Socially responsible 401k's

  • If you are an employer, consider moving your company's 401k plan to a vendor that understands socially responsible investing and can help you design a plan that is in line with your values.  One example is Social(k).
  • If your entire 401k plan can not be made socially responsible, ensure that the plan offers a broad range of socially responsible funds to choose from and that these alternatives are well-communicated to employees.