Socially Responsible Investing - What Is It?

Socially Responsible Investing - What Is It?

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) funds are ones where the company which offers them is beneficial in some way to the world, society, and the environment, and this means that they will be safe companies in which to invest. The question is, are they profitable?

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Companies which use animal testing, for example, are not included amongst SRI fund companies. However you cannot always tell from the type of company it is whether it will be SRI or not. Tobacco could be included on the SRI list, for example, but firearms may not.

There are certain criteria which must be met if a company is to be chosen as an SRI fund company in the stock market. All companies would be required to go through a screening process to assess this.

There are many SRI fund companies which are around today, and one of the biggest of these is the Pax World, which was formed in 1971 and was one of the first companies to determine its availability according to social and financial criteria. Nowadays Pax World has some 175 funds under it, and these are valued at over two trillion dollars all together.

Pax World's SRI funds do not invest in companies which are involved with tobacco or firearms, or products which are concerned with the gambling industry. They are also involved with the issue of employer-employee relationships. Socially responsible investment is not always entirely possible for companies, but we can see from the example of Pax World what companies can achieve in this regard.

Domini Social Investments are another SRI fund which are worth investors being aware of, as they track the Domini 400 Social Index, which was formed in 1991 and which lists ethical companies. Investments in the Standard and Poor 500 Index do not return as well on investment as those in this index do.

The FTSE4 good index has been in operation since 2001, and it lists companies which fit the criteria for a socially responsible organization. This index is a tradable one, which investors can use as a guideline for investment in this type of company, and it is a series which makes these funds available to people who are interested in this particular type of investment.

In fact it covers 90% of financial markets, and any groups which are listed on the series are required to meet internationally set CSR standards.

The Dow Jones group has used the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Indexes since 1999, and this provides a listing of companies in the stock market which satisfies the criteria according to environmental, economic and social standards.

This kind of fund makes a great stock market investment, which is well worth your consideration. Keep in mind there are always new opportunities for this kind of investment being added to the stock market each year.

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