Growth of SRI Fund Assets Outpaces Regular Funds

Assets in funds that use socially responsible investing screens grew at a faster pace between 1995 and 2005 than the assets of all professionally managed funds, the Social Investment Forum reported.

Assets in SRI funds grew 258%, from $639 billion in 1995 to $2.29 trillion in 2005, while assets in all funds grew 249%, from $7 trillion to $24.4 trillion.

"Over the past decade, SRI has become a major force in the U.S. financial marketplace," said Tim Smith, president of the Social Investment Forum and senior vice president at Walden Asset Management. "Mainstream money managers are increasingly incorporating social, environmental and governance factors into their investing, [and] a growing number of institutional investors are embracing the philosophy of active ownership with the companies in their portfolios."

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