SOYOUWANNA EASE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT INVESTING IN A SOCIALLY RESPONMSIBLE FUND?

1. Like any investment in the stock market, a socially responsible investment is still a gamble. There are no guarantees that your money will even come back to you, let alone gain 20% a year.

2. In the past, one of the major arguments against socially responsible investing was that it would not be profitable. As it turns out, several socially-conscious mutual funds beat the S&P 500, a broad stock market index of 500 companies and a common indicator of the market's overall performance. Examples: Citizens Index Fund, Domini Social Equity Fund, IPS New Frontier Fund, Citizens Emerging Growth, and Bridgeway Social Responsibility.

3. Some say that socially responsible mutual funds have higher expenses because of the research required to screen companies. While in some cases, especially with smaller mutual funds, expense ratios can be higher, supporters say that as the fund grows, it will reach economies of scale and the expense ratio will decline.

4. Detractors claim that socially responsible companies have higher costs of doing business. Proponents counter that companies with bad labor relations, worse environmental records and ugly lawsuits are the ones to avoid because ultimately they incur higher costs of doing business. (The tobacco industry, take note.) Companies that treat not just their stockholders but also their employees, the environment and their community well will probably have similarly good business practices in other areas.

5. Another concern about socially responsible investing is that you are limited in your choice of companies. But screened mutual funds exist with several hundred companies in them, and supporters say there are plenty of companies out there, it's just a matter of doing more research.

6. Critics also maintain it is impossible to have a completely "clean" company. Although guaranteeing that a company of any size is 100% in compliance with every moral guideline is unrealistic, the screening process is an honest attempt to find the truth and pick the best of the lot.

7. You may be worried about whether you are investing on the fringe (that would be, investing with extremist weirdo groups that no sane person would ever endorse). Socially responsible investing is gaining broader acceptance with the increasing number of mainstream mutual fund companies hopping on the bandwagon.

SoYouWanna (sm) know more? Read the full-length article SYW be a socially responsible investor?

SoYouWanna know more? Check out our full-length article SYW be a socially responsible investor?