Hi ponderer, and thanks for the great question! I'm posting this as a
comment because it's not exactly what you asked for, but I hope it'll
be of value to you...
I have been looking into SRIs for some time, and coincidentally heard
a report yesterday, including some statistics, that made my ears perk
up... Then I saw your question!
The report was on 'Marketplace' (brought to you by Minnesota Public
Radio, although I listen through KCRW.com - a fabulous station based
in Los Angeles. www.kcrw.com ) You can listen to an archive of the
show (Thursday, July 18) on RealAudio at http://www.marketplace.org/.
(At the moment, the link to that specific show is right next to David
Brancaccio's picture - in a day or two, I sispect it will be archived
with the rest of the shows.) The section on SRIs is @ 11:47 on the
counter.
While he report focuses on current trends in SRI (especially in light
of the current state of the market,) Brancaccio interviews Cliff
Feigenbaum of Green Money Journal, who says "the truth is that,uh, the
marketplace for socially responsible investing is about 2.1 trillion
dollars, so about 1 in every 10 dollars that's invested has some level
of socially responsible screens on it."
(Mr. Feigenbaum is also co-author of "Investing with Your Values(
Conscientious Commerce)," available at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0865714223/qid=1027103502/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-8005226-6765636
)
You'll also find a great resource at SocialFunds.com's Media Center
page ( http://www.socialfunds.com/media/index.cgi ) including a
"History of Social Investing Timeline." The timeline goes from George
Fox founding the Quakers in 1652 to the launch of the Dow Jones Global
Sustainability Index in 2000... But I suspect you'll be most
interested in events like the creation of the first money market with
a social screen by the Calvert Group in 1982, the first social index
fund (Domini) in 1990, or the creation of the first socially
responsible global fund by Calvert in 1992. (There are links to more
information on those and most other 'milestones' on the timeline.)
Under 'I want to write an article about... General SRI Information,' I
found the follwing in the 'Current Status' section:
"Although a relatively small portion of total investments, socially
responsible investing continues to grow and become more mainstream and
influential. Total investments using at least one social investment
strategy have grown from $40 billion in 1984 to $639 billion in 1995,
to over $2 trillion today, according to a 1999 report by the Social
Investment Forum (SIF). Social investments now account for about 13
percent of the estimated $16.3 trillion under professional management
in the U.S., according to the SIF report."
There is an article through the same site called "New Organization
Facilitates Global Social Investing - A coalition of research
organizations is working to provide investors greater access to
worldwide social investment research products and services." dated
January 02, 2001.
( http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/article461.html )
Here's another article, this one at Asset International Online, called
"A question of values - Led by Calvert and other consciousness-raising
concerns, the idea of socially responsible investing is gathering
strength and going global" by Rob Wright (from 1994). Here's an
excerpt that might be of particular interest:
"Other funds appear to prove that socially responsible funds can
outperform. Data from Lipper Analytical shows the Calvert World Values
Global Equity Fund returned 25.8% in its first full year, or three
points better than the MSCI World Index. Today, it has nearly $100
million in total assets, as well as a clean conscience as to where its
shareholders' money goes. It even reserves up to 3% of its assets for
investing in promissory notes for non-profit groups fighting hunger
and poverty worldwide. Calvert, a Bethesda, Maryland-based investment
house with $4.8 billion under management, is best known for having the
lion's share in short-term tax-free US municipal bonds, including a
$1.5 billion fund Lipper has ranked first in its class for 10 years.
Calvert's socially screened funds have averaged better than 11% a year
since their inception. Although these are average returns for the
industry, in June of 1992 Calvert nonetheless launched Global World
Values, the first international SRI fund. The only other similar fund
Calvert is aware of is the Merlin Jupiter Ecology Fund in London, a
strictly "green" investment vehicle whose manager, Tessa Tennant, is a
trustee of Calvert's fund. Blairlogie Capital Management in Edinburgh,
Scotland, also has "light" social screens on their funds."
I hope this gives you some good information and leads... good luck
with the presentation!
Best,
Rebecca |
