I heard folks talking in the elevator about SRI when speaking about their investments and I wanted to find out what the heck it was. Do you know?

SRI is a nifty and appropriate acronym that stands for Socially Responsible Investing. It is really a way to invest in companies that contain traits related to environmental responsibility, fair labor, human rights, or humanitarian causes…just to name a few of the biggies. Today, around 10% of investments have to do with some form of SRI. And, thanks to the recent trend toward raising our eco-IQ, the choices are growing. But, how do you sort out a true Socially Responsible company from the rest of the herd that likely includes wannabe organizations/firms that say they are “socially responsible”?

Well, for starters, educate yourself about the topics. There are a number of sites and free reports available on the subject. One particular source I found useful was SocialFunds.com. This resource includes the option to receive PDF versions of reports providing a good deal of education (PDFs save trees and other resources too).

Why you will make a difference: Consider SRI the next time you invest your well deserved cash. Be sure that the company or portfolio you invest in has ethical environmental and social responsibility that is both internally and externally visible (say that ten times fast). This transcends through shareholders as well. If you are looking at a portfolio or mutual fund, it may be SRI because they elected to include or exclude companies based off whether they met certain criteria.

Do you have experience with SRI? Feel free to leave a comment.