Social Investment Forum

Think you want to put your money where your values are? The toughest part of so-called social investing has always been finding the companies and funds that have values that match yours. But this process is easier now thanks to resources available on the World Wide Web. For instance, at http://www.socialinvest.org, the Social Investment Forum, a Washington-based nonprofit group, provides information about what social investing means and where you can go to find investments that suit your needs.

In the beginning, there was a guiding principle: Thou shalt not make money from industries that do harm. From this sprung a small cadre of so-called ethical investors. Primarily well-heeled religious folk, ethical investors followed their creed by sidestepping investments in tobacco, alcohol and gambling companies.

In the beginning, there was a guiding principle: Thou shalt not make money from industries that do harm. From this sprung a small cadre of so-called ethical investors. Primarily well-heeled religious folk, ethical investors followed their creed by sidestepping investments in tobacco, alcohol and gambling companies.

Think you want to put your money where your values are? The toughest part of so-called social investing has always been finding the companies and funds that have values that match yours. But this process is easier now thanks to resources available on the World Wide Web. For instance, at http://www.socialinvest.org, the Social Investment Forum, a Washington-based nonprofit group, provides information about what social investing means and where you can go to find investments that suit your needs.

Leaders of a tobacco divestiture campaign predicted that the movement to dump tobacco stocks will gain momentum in 1997 because legal and regulatory pressures are making them risky investments. "Tobacco is horrific on moral grounds, and there is no longer a compelling case to be made for it on strictly economic grounds," Steve Schueth, president of the Social Investment Forum, said in a teleconference. Meanwhile, Steven Goldstone, chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp.

Joined by Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, a group representing about 400 "socially responsible" investment firms on Monday vowed to use their clout to pressure clothing manufacturers and retailers into taking a tougher stand against apparel industry sweatshops.

The Valdez principles, to be used by investors as a measure of a corporation's commitment to safeguarding the environment, were announced Thursday by an environmental and social coalition. The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, or CERES, said the 10 principles would be immediately circulated among major U.S. corporations for signatories. CERES said it would monitor the adherence to the principles by corporations, whether they are signatories or not, and make public the results.

A coalition of investor groups wants to mobilize shareholders to upend proposals that could damage their rights. "This is a critical moment," said Daniel Pedrotty, director of the office of investment at the AFL-CIO, which has become an activist investor on behalf of the union's pension plan. "Now is the time that people really need to weigh in, not only with the Securities and Exchange Commission but with their congressmen." The issue: the election of corporate directors.

In the past several years, Americans have become increasingly aware of the social and environmental activities of U.S. companies. And this awareness has helped fuel an investment movement that's variously called "green," "socially responsible" or simply "socially conscious."

Regulators on Thursday proposed forcing mutual funds to reveal how they cast their votes on behalf of investors in corporate contests over executive pay, board makeup and other issues. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to seek two months of public comment on the plan, which could draw fierce opposition from the fund industry. Fund companies, which hold about 21% of the U.S.

Warren E. Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said Sunday that he regarded efforts to rate the performance of companies on social, human rights or environmental measures to be of dubious merit and would not consider such factors when selecting investments. "I don't know how I would rate Exxon versus Chevron versus BP," he said at a news conference one day after Berkshire's annual meeting. "It's very difficult to judge the actions of companies that act on thousands of things every day."

A record 300 shareholder resolutions on social concerns ranging from South African divestment to teen-age smoking were filed this year for votes at annual meetings, 40% more than last year. But the fastest growth came in resolutions urging more corporate sensitivity to the environment.