Barclays is to support a social investment fund which will provide significant returns while also raising its profile in the ethical business sector.

The fund is managed by Catalyst Fund Management & Research and it strives to pinpoint businesses that promote a powerful ethical agenda, reports the Independent.

Commenting on its decision to invest £5 million into the fund, Barclays’ chief executive John Varley, said: “We are excited by the potential of this innovative fund. Both the financial returns we anticipate and the opportunity to increase our presence in these rapidly growing sectors make this an attractive proposition for the bank.”

He added that previous investments had proved it is possible to invest in ethical funds while still making substantial returns.

Rodney Schwartz, Catalyst’s founder, noted that the ethical sector is beginning to “hot up” with investors realising that socially-viable funds are proving to be profitable.

Elsewhere, Barclays has won a significant victory in the court case surrounding the Enron scandal, with the court ruling that investors could not sue third parties over claims of helping a business to commit fraud.

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