Social investment industry pioneer Amy Domini pens a new,

comprehensive book on the whys and hows of socially

responsible investing.

SocialFunds.com -- When Amy Domini talks, social investors

should listen. Her firm's Domini Social Equity Fund, a social

mutual fund that tracks the Domini 400 Social Index, has

returned an average annual 20.83 percent over the last ten

years. This is compared to 18.70 percent for the Standard &

Poor 500 Index for the same period. Already the coauthor of

several books touching on different aspects of social

investing, Domini covers all bases in her new solo effort

"Socially Responsible Investing."

Social investors will find the book relatively easy to digest.

Her writing style makes for interesting reading, even when she

covers dry subjects such as research and Securities and

Exchange Commission laws. The chapters are liberally peppered

with boxes containing examples, side notes, statistics and

even stock picks. These boxes provide useful breaks for the

reader and help to lighten the book's overall tone.

But the most striking characteristic of the book is how Domini

hammers home the point that our shrinking world needs to

integrate personal and ethical concerns into the investment

process. From the first page to the last paragraph, she

passionately argues with relevant examples how individual

social investors can effect change.

Domini writes "There are two basic reasons for integrating

social or ethical criteria into the investment decision-making

process: the desire to align investments with values and the

desire to play a role in creating positive social change." She

goes on to explain how the reader can achieve this by

detailing the three powerful tools of enlightened social

investors: investment screens, holding direct dialogue with

company management as a shareholder, and supporting community

development financial institutions.

For each of the three tools, Domini not only explains how and

why to use them, but in some cases also provides essential

resources such as names, website addresses and contact

information. Many social investors will find these resources

to be particularly useful, as the contact information will

enable inspired ideas to be acted on immediately.

A global perspective is important for any book on social

investing, and Domini's book does not fail here. While the

focus is clearly on the U.S., anecdotes and examples from

other countries can be found throughout, and even one whole

chapter is devoted to global finance.

Domini goes on to stress the positive impacts of applying

social investing principles using the three tools detailed in

earlier chapters. For example, she writes the following about

shareholder dialogue with company management: "It is only

prudent for the owners of a company to support requests for

greater disclosure educing risk is one of the primary ways

investors enhance return." She makes it clear that social

investing helps ensure, not deter, above-average financial

returns.

In ending the book, Domini reiterates that investors can make

money while making a difference. "At the individual level,"

she writes, "each person must see that his or her investment

decisions can make a difference, thereby tipping the scales of

society to incorporate justice and environmental

sustainability into our most powerful civic structures,

whether public or private."

Readers will be hard put to deny the impassioned assertions

like these that the author makes in her new publication. Of

the readership that has never given much thought before to

social investing, Ms. Domini is likely to win some converts.

And as she said repeatedly in her book, those converts will

make a difference.