Green Mutual Funds/Alternative Energy Mutual Funds and Socially Responsible Investing

Green mutual funds and alternative energy mutual funds both fall under the category of socially responsible investing (SRI). Socially responsible investing is known for trying to maximize the "social good" as well as the investments financial return. SRI achieves it's goals through investing in companies that display a social consciousness and ethical business practices that try to make the world a better place. Generally, the socially responsible investor shows favoritism towards companies that provide consumer protection, human rights, social welfare or a cleaner/healthier environment. A recurring theme of socially responsible investments is that you can "do well by doing good."

Green Mutual Funds, or green funds, are environmentally friendly mutual funds offered by investment companies such as Calvert and Winslow, invest in companies that operate in a environmentally responsible manner. The companies that green mutual funds invest in usually do their best to ensure that their day to day operations have as little negative effect on the environment and produce as little pollution as possible. Many of these companies also provide products and services that are aimed at making the world a cleaner, greener place.

Alternative Energy Mutual Funds, also known as renewable energy funds, invest in companies that are working to provide power from clean, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Typically, the companies that alternative energy mutual funds invest in help provide electricity at reduced costs and help us move away from our dependence on fossil fuels, reducing pollution in the process.

As the world's demand for energy increases and we all become more environmentally aware the companies that alternative energy mutual funds are expected to become more and more profitable, leading to a strongly positive long term outlook for most alternative energy mutual funds.

If you are looking for areas to invest your money while still maintaining a positive environmental outlook you should strongly consider investing in green mutual funds and alternative energy mutual funds. Green Mutual Funds and Alternative Energy Mutual Funds are great ways for you to earn a little green while keeping the earth green.

Environmentally Friendly Mutual Funds

Many people have asked me if there are any environmentally friendly mutual funds on the market. The answer is a resounding YES! We keep stressing the point that you can earn handsome profits from investing in companies that are environmentally friendly, whether through their business practices or through the products and services that they sell.

For many people, finding individual companies to invest in can be quite difficult. Everyone knows that diversification is very important to reduce the amount of risk that your investment portfolio incurs. Because of limited funds and lack of information most investors will find it difficult to find stocks to buy that will be profitable and provide enough diversification. Environmentally friendly mutual funds do this work for you. The search for businesses that are expected to be profitable, conduct their business in ways that limits the negative effects on the Earth and may even produce products or services that help make the world a cleaner place.

Environmentally friendly mutual funds are normally classified in the investment subsection called green mutual funds. There are many different environmentally friendly mutual funds available that would be considered green mutual funds.

Green Mutual Funds

Green mutual funds are a subsection of the socially responsible mutual fund sector. They limit all of their investments to companies that actively pursue environmentally friendly business practices and purposes. Some of the industries that are included in green mutual funds are energy generation using renewable or clean power sources such as wind or solar in order to reduce pollutants and companies that produce products that help us to be more environmentally friendly, such as biodegradable storage containers, solar panels or windmills. Many of the alternative energy mutual funds that are available on the market could be considered green mutual funds.

Even though many of the green mutual funds have been available for quite some time the sector itself is relatively new and there are relatively few participants. Since there are so few funds and many of them don't have an established track record they need to be evaluated on short-term performance as there is no real benchmark to grade them against. Many people judge green mutual funds based on the individual companies that they invest in and their potential for long term performance. As green mutual funds become more popular I expect more investment houses to offer them and we should begin to be able to make comparisons in the near future.

Most finance companies that sell mutual funds do not have a seperate listing for green mutual funds. They will usually be listed under their socially responsible mutual funds. Many of the stocks that are purchased by green mutual funds show a high degree of correlation to the stock market as a whole, so don't expect them to offer a great degree of diversification.

If you aer looking for ways to earn some profit while protecting the environment you should consider investing in green mutual funds.

Alternative Energy Mutual Funds Investment Outlook

While the GDP is expected to be slightly negative over the next 3 quarters to a year there are reasons to believe alternative energy mutual funds should have significant price appreciation in the near future. Let’s examine why:

New legislation has provided extra funds into the banking industry and the credit markets are beginning to show signs of strengthening. This additional source of capital will provide many alternative energy companies with the funds they will need for expansion.

The industry outlook for alternative energy stocks is considered bullish. One of the world’s largest industrial segments is the electrical power industry. The compounded annual growth rate of the earth’s electrical consumption has grown at a rate over 3.2% from 1980 through 2008, while the global electrical capacity has only increased at a rate of 2.8%. Use of electricity is expected to rise even faster as development in China, Japan and Russia continues to grow. The continuous growth of energy demand has led to an energy shortfall. This energy shortfall is leading to research for new and better ways to produce electricity.

According to the International Energy Agency investment in the production, distribution and transmission to meet this increased demand is expected to exceed $11 Trillion by 2030. This, coupled with the desire for independence from foreign oil, constraints of fossil fuels and environmental concerns is leading to significant interest in alternative and renewable energy sources.

Currently, fossil fuel account for 80% of power generation in the United States. Nuclear power accounts for an additional 9%. Legislation in several states calls for 15% of commercial electrical power to come from renewable sources and many states are expected to follow suit. This will further increase demand for alternative energy.

The increased demand for alternative and renewable energy sources leads to potential profits for many companies involved in the alternative energy industry. The lack of history or benchmarks for these companies makes investing in individual alternative energy stocks to be difficult. This difficulty is avoided by investing in alternative energy mutual funds, also known as green energy mutual funds and renewable energy mutual funds.