SRI Funds Look to Europe for Opportunities

Socially responsible investing has been a hot trend in the past few years, but has cooled down lately. However, fund managers need not worry because there are many opportunities in the international sector, MarketWatch.com reports.

One example is Domini Social Investments , which is planning to expand its horizons with a new fund, the Domini Socially Equity Fund. Set to debut Oct. 3, the new fund will focus on Europe, in an area with social corporate responsibility and environmental consciousness.

"Socially responsible funds are growing quickly but they haven't had a chance yet to expand very much into foreign equities," said Morningstar analyst Greg Carlson. "The current options are small and fairly expensive, and it requires extra effort to build out research coverage of overseas companies," he added.

"European companies have made a commitment to strong governance, and socially conscious investors are interested in the region because of the reputation of corporate responsibility," said Jeff MacDonagh, SRI portfolio manager at Domini.

Europe is responsible for producing more than three-quarters of the world's vaccines and it supports clean energy and wind power, which are some of the key reasons socially responsible investors are attracted to it.

The new Domini portfolio is expected to hold somewhere between 65 and 70 stocks.