What is the Socially Responsible Investment Boom?

Socially respnsible investing is how Conscious Capitalists put money where their heart is, by buying into corporations whose environmental and social standards reflect their own values. Socially responsible investing, sustainable investing or ethical investing, describes an investment strategy which seeks to maximize both financial return and social good.

Socially responsible investors favor corporate best practices that promote environmental stewardship, consumer protection, human rights and diversity.

What are SRI Screens?

Socially responsible mutual funds subject stocks to "screens", which are a set of criteria that measures a companys actions and policies on:

Social

Environmental

Ethical

Governance matters

Screens provide guidelines necessary for determining which securities to include or exclude from a portfolio. The two types of SRI screens are negative and positive.

This is how each type of screen may be structured

Ask does a company?:

• pollute the environment? (negative)
• reward senior managers for great environment performance (positive)
• display integrity in advertising (positive)
• promote offensive stereotypes (negative)
• violate fair labor practices, OSHA regulations, equal opportunity standards? (negative)
• hire an promote minorities and women? (positive)

Some SRI Funds utilize both types of screens to conduct a complete anaysis.

Two of the best known SRI companies is Calvert Group and Domini Social Investments, each offer several funds: The Pax World Balance Fund, The Ariel Fund, the Ariel Appreciation Fund.

To find out more about SRI social responsible investing trends, go to Social Investment Forum http://www.socialinvest.org/SIF's membership includes more than 500 social investment practitioners and institutions, including financial professionals, analysts, portfolio managers, banks, mutual funds, researchers, foundations, community development organizations, and public educators.

Watch video on Green Investing in Wind power, Solar power, Alternative energy, Biofuel production.

More about Calvert Funds

Social Investment Fund Balanced Portfolio offers all financial markets: stocks, bonds, and money market. Calvert Social Index Fund seeks to match the Calvert Social Index a broad based benchmark for large and mid cap U.S. socially responsible funds.

In the News:

Social investors use four basic strategies to maximize financial return and attempt to maximize social good.

Screening excludes certain securities from investment consideration based on social and/or environmental criteria.

Divesting is the act of removing stocks from a portfolio based on mainly ethical, non-financial objections to certain business activities of a corporation.

Shareholder activism efforts attempt to positively influence corporate behavior in belief that social investors, working cooperatively, can steer management on a course that will improve financial performance over time and enhance the well being of the stockholders, customers, employees, vendors, and communities.

Calverts Social Investment Bond Portfolio

is composed of fixed income securities from cororations, governments and agencies that meet Calverts SRI criteria.

Domi Social Bond Fund

is an intermediate term, investment grande, socially screened portfolio of fixed income securities. The Fund also invests in community economic development.

Both Domini and Calvert offer green screened money market funds. Calvert's Social Investment Money Market Fund is invested in short-term securities, commercial paper, CDs and government agency issues. minimum is $1,000.

Domini's FDIC insured Money Market Account puts your money with ShoreBank, the nations oldest and largest community development bank. The minimum is $2,500.

Ways to customize you portfolio start with the Sustainable Business 20 http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/ here you can find the SB20 a list of Earth-friendly industries:

• Bioproducts,
• Components,
• Financial,
• Flywheels,
• Fuel Cells,
• Geothermal,
• Healthcare,
• Materials,
• Microturbines,
• Natural Foods,
• Natural Products,
• Solar,
• Superconductors,
• Transportation,
• Water and Wind.

Resource News

http://www.greenmoneyjournal.com/ Financial Literacy and the Greening Economy