Socially responsible investing (SRI) is investing that is mindful of the impact on society of that investment. It is often described to investors as allowing them 'to do well by doing good'. SRI usually describes investments that screen out companies that violate environmental or other laws, use child labour or sweatshops, discriminate in hiring, or - in general - produce products detrimental to society or engage in practices deemed reprehensible by most people. Although many people want to invest in socially responsible ways, until recently most investors believed that they had to give up some measure of performance to do so. The SRI Advantage demonstrates why this is emphatically not the case. It presents overwhelming evidence that SRI has outperformed financially, explains in detail why SRI outperforms, and then examines the implications for investment professionals, investors, pension funds, and community/non-profit groups.
Prefaced by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, and introduced by Republican corporate accountability advocate Robert Monks, The SRI Advantage will be of special interest to investment advisors and financial planners, private investors, the non-profit sector, brokers, mutual fund managers, and - especially given the Enron scandal - pension fund trustees and staff.
Table of Contents
Foreword; Introduction; The Case for SRI Out-performance; SRI Indexes, Risk, and Volatility; SRI Mutual Funds; 30 Years of Studies: SRI Performance and Market History; Why SRI Has Outperformed; Pension Funds and Fiduciary Responsibility: The SRI Imperative; Socially Responsible Investing for the Individual Investor; Socially Responsible Investing in the US; Socially Responsible Investing: From the Margins to the Mainstream; Seeing Stars: SRI Mutual Fund Performance; Factoring Out Sector Bets; Can Universal Owners Be Socially Responsible Investors?; "Crossing the Black Waters": The International Dimension of Socially Responsible Investing; SRI and Energy: Scenes from a Revolution; Foundations and Mission-Related Investing; The World of Community Investing Strategies.
