Over three decades
ago, religious leaders chose to fight the rapid expansion
of alcohol and tobacco products by raising the awareness
of individual investors. Socially Responsible Investing
was born. Its objective was to protect investors from
unknowingly capitalizing and subsidizing companies that
produced harmful products.
Since the days when religious leaders gave birth to
Socially Responsible Investing, the concept has been
copied and popularized by numerous special interests. In
the 1990's Socially Responsible Investing grew to
accept many different causes, some of them quite radical.
Today, it's common for screening criteria to include such
issues as the use of animals in product testing,
endangered habitats, equal corporate benefits for
homosexuals, investing in Burma, the export of
agricultural chemicals, and efforts to keep investor's
money form going to the U.S. Department of Defense or any
of its contractors.
Clearly, Socially Responsible Investing as a philosophy
has lost its early vision. Today, a new vision is needed
to keep the money of principled investors out of the
hands for what can be termed the "cultural
polluters." Regardless of political affiliation,
most everyone agrees that the greatest threat our country
faces is the deterioration of our culture. What we see
today is a culture of broken families leaving children
torn apart in their path; a culture without respect for
life; an arena lacking civil discourse; a society rife
with racial disharmony, and a culture focusing on many of
our past ills while alienating our children from
traditional history and values.
Traditional values and traditional families are being
bombarded with cultural pollution. This "American
Values" methodology is designed to keep your
investment portfolio from unknowingly subsidizing today's
cultural deficit. By actively keeping your money out of
the hands of companies who profit at the expense of our
society, you increase the cost of capital, and give them
a taste of cultural and social accountability.
Focusing on the investment of choice in America today --
mutual funds -- the eVALUEator®
actively screens over 8,000 mutual fund portfolios. It identifies funds which invest their
shareholder's money in companies promoting or profiting
from pornography, abortion, non-marriage lifestyles, and
anti-family entertainment. You can vote your conscience
with your dollars.
You do not have to compromise your investment performance
potential, however, by choosing not to compromise your
values. While many of America's most popular funds
do not meet the screening criteria, there are many alternative
funds in equivalent asset classes that have comparable or
superior rates of return histories. This leaves an
investor free to still choose among the best mutual fund
money managers, while having peace of mind knowing their
investments carry cultural accountability.
Alexis de Toqueville once said, "America is a great
country because America is a good country. If America
ever ceases to be a good country, it will also cease
being a country." In that same spirit, millions of
Americans today are reaffirming their respect for
traditional moral values -- the goodness that has made
America great.
Like the religious leaders of the past who boldly stood
up to the alcohol and tobacco industries, Americans today
now have the opportunity to bring cultural and moral
accountability to the trillion-dollar mutual fund
business. Principled investors, together with a
Values-Based financial professional using the eVALUEator,
can work to help keep America great by encouraging
American business to be good.
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All
information provided is believed to be accurate but is
not guaranteed. Any discussion of mutual funds or
investments should not be construed in any way to be
sales recommendations or investment advice. Our service
is specifically to identify the cultural integrity
represented in mutual fund portfolios.
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eVALUEator Services, LC. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
All Rights Reserved