Vanguard Plans New Socially- Responsible Index Fund

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The Vanguard Group of Malvern, Pa. is planning to file a registration statement with the SEC for a no-load mutual fund that will track a new socially-responsible index, the company has announced.

The proposed fund will track the new Calvert Social Index, which is being developed by the Calvert Group of Bethesda, Md. Calvert will screen stocks from about 1,000 of the largest companies in the U.S.

The index will evaluate companies based on environmental policies, workplace issues, product safety and impact, international operations and human rights and weapons contracting, the company said. It will avoid companies involved in tobacco, alcohol, gambling, nuclear power, or that violate fair labor practices and equal opportunity standards.

Both individual and institutional classes of the fund's shares will be offered.