Green Mutual Funds Providers

Posted by A. Caleb Hartley on March 11th, 2008 filed in investing

Last SRI post we discussed the two main options for Socially Responsible Investing:  screening stocks and “activist” investing. 

Since activist investing is such a broad concept that any company can be chosen (there’s always room for improvement, no matter how green a company already is - or isn’t), and since activist investing is best accomplished on an individual-stock basis, we will discuss some screened stock options today.

Calvert Socially Responsible Mutual Funds: Calvert states that they “manage [their] mutual funds with Double Diligence.”  This means, they say, that they find stocks that not only have strong potential for growth, but also that they avoid those stocks whose companies are at risk due to unethical business practices.  The screens that Calvert uses to select stocks for their socially resposible investing can be found by clicking here.

Green Century Funds: Founded in 1991 by non-profit environmental advocacy organizations, GCF is wholly owned by non-profit advocacy groups.  This company focuses specifically on environmentally responsible investing - meaning they follow these three principles (from their website):

• provide two mutual funds for those who wish to align their investments with their environmental values;
• use shareholder advocacy to seek to place direct pressure on corporations to change their practices to protect the environment;
• dedicate GCCM’s profits to advocacy organizations who work for public policies that help create a sustainable economy.

GCF, in other words, combines screened stocks with a little activist investing on behalf of their investors - these guys pack a one-two punch!  If your interests align less with the environment, however, and more with social activism (like poverty, protecting women’s rights, etc.), GCF may not be for you.

Portfolio 21: This is a mutual fund that invests specifically in corporations that design “ecologically superior products,” use renewable energy, and consistently improve their production efforts so that they reduce environmental impact.  Ticker = PORTX  

Parnassus Investments: Parnassus’ s philosophy is that “companies with ethical business practices make for good long-term investments.”

Pax World Funds: Companies are screened for fair employment practices, corporate citizenship, and environmental responsibility.  They offer a balanced fund, a growth fund, a high-yield fund, and a money market fund. (full disclosure: I invest in Pax World funds)

Domini Social Investments: Domini invests in companies based on where they stand on issues such as global warming, sweatshop labor, product safety, and more.

There are many, many more options when it comes to socially- and environmentally-screened stocks and mutual funds.  A great resource for information is the Social Investment Forum Website. Additionally, Co-op America has an extensive SRI section in their National Green Pages, which is where much of the above information was gathered.  I encourage you to jon Co-op America if you are interested in living green!

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley

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Do you invest in socially- or environmentally-screened stocks or mutual funds? After reading the last few posts about SRI, will you in the future? Tell us!