Surveys conducted by the Fonds de solidarité reveal that the vast majority of its shareholders - 87 percent in 1992 - are satisfied with their investment returns.^{Endnote 56} It should be further mentioned that returns, combined with personal tax savings, are not the only motivation of labour-sponsored fund investors. Several surveys also indicate that support for Canadian or provincial economic development is also of considerable interest.^{Endnote 57}

According to the INRS study (cited previously), net long-term investor returns of labour-sponsored funds are more attractive than those of mutual funds if personal tax savings are taken into account.^{Endnote 58}

(ix) Involvement of workers and unions in enterprise-based decisions

Increasingly, new models of human resource management and organization of the enterprise and workplace are being introduced to Canadian industry. A key component of such models, developed in European countries and Japan, is employee participation in corporate governance and management. An equally important and related component is the sharing of financial outcomes with workers, such as firm ownership. In reaction to the diminishing success of older, more traditional production methods, business and labour are more disposed to such ideas as part of a so-called "high performance" path to competitiveness.

Research argues that employee involvement in company management and ownership improves overall economic efficiency. For instance, in their 1994 review of recent studies looking at the impact of new models which included these elements, Canadian economists Gordon Betcherman and Norm Leckie found a "performance payoff."^{Endnote 59} Similarly, a recent assessment of the American ESOP system concluded that worker ownership, when combined with participative decision-making, had positive results for several efficiency factors, such as productivity, rates of return, firm longevity, variability of jobs within firms, and job growth.^{Endnote 60}

Such findings are material to labour-sponsored investment funds since many give priority to advancing employee participation and ownership. Indeed, by championing most elements of high performance strategies, and reflecting these in unique programs, some funds can be said to be adding new value to venture investing and mentoring, as was suggested earlier.

For some fund directors, this issue is relevant to the mutual goals of enhancing worker conditions and guaranteeing investment returns (through productivity benefits). At the same time, CLMPC research has determined, labour-sponsored funds may be at the forefront of establishing innovative philosophies and practices in Canadian companies, industries and sectors.