1. Socially responsible investing is when you take your beliefs and values and apply them to how you invest your money. This is also known as having a "double bottom line," because not only are you looking for a profitable investment, but also one that meets certain moral criteria and that lets you sleep well at night.
2. Your second bottom line could be moral, religious, or based on whatever Chicken Soup for the Soul principles help guide you through life.
3. Given the wide range of attitudes out there, socially responsible investors screen companies and mutual funds for those that conflict with their beliefs. For instance, some will not invest in those profit mongers that damage the environment, use innocent monkeys for research, or rely on vices (like smoking and boozing) to make a dime.
4. Not all socially responsible investors are in agreement. Take, for example, the "gay benefits" issue. Some investors exclude companies like Walt Disney Co. for having gay-friendly policies while others embrace them.
5. In 1999, $1 out of every $8 invested in stocks was prompted by a socially conscious decision. That comes to $2.16 trillion of the $16.3 trillion professionally managed in the United States, or 13%. The $2.16 trillion figure is up 82% from 1997.
6. Some particular demographic segments of socially responsible investors include baby boomers (who lived through love-ins and peace rallies and who have an affinity for social awareness), women (who tend to appreciate companies where a glass ceiling is not part of the dcor), and minorities, (who tend to support businesses that encourage diversity).
SoYouWanna know more? Check out our full-length article SYW be a socially responsible investor?
