For your convenience, we have listed the answers to journalists' most commonly asked questions. For further information, please contact our Media Support Desk at 212-217-1110 (mediaservices@domini.com).

 

Domini Social Investments LLC
536 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10012-3915
212-217-1100, Fax: 212-217-1101
Shareholder Information Line: 800-582-6757

 

Fund Facts, Terms and Definitions

 

• Management Team:

Amy L. Domini, Founder, CEO, and President,

Carole M. Laible, Chief Operating Officer,

Steven D. Lydenberg, Chief Investment Officer,

Adam M. Kanzer, General Counsel and Director of Shareholder Advocacy,

Maura G. Colleran, Investor Services Manager.

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Assets under management: $1.5 billion as of June 30, 2003.

 

·         Domini Social Investments is based in New York City with 22 employees.

 

·         All of our Funds are no-load.

 

·         In April 1999, Domini Social Investments became the first mutual fund company to provide public access to its proxy voting decisions. We first published our proxy voting guidelines in 1992, and have published our voting guidelines and Screening Criteria annually since 1996.

 

·         Since 1994, we have filed more than 60 shareholder proposals with nearly 30 corporations on social and environmental issues such as sweatshop conditions, board diversity and environmental performance. We have also engaged numerous corporations in extensive dialogue on these issues.

 

·         Product offerings:

o        Domini Social Equity Fund (Ticker: DSEFX)

§         Launched June 1991

§         The oldest and largest socially and environmentally screened index fund in the world.

§         The only socially screened index fund with a ten-year track record.

§         Seeks to track the Domini 400 Social Index^SM, launched May 1990.

§         Included in the pension plans of Ford Motor Co., Hewlett Packard, Morningstar, the Boston Globe and the states of Massachusetts, California and Vermont.

§         The Domini Institutional Social Equity Fund is a lower-cost version of the DSEF, available for qualified foundations, endowments and non-profit organizations.

 

o        Domini Social Bond Fund (Ticker: DSBFX)

§         Launched June 1, 2000

§         An intermediate term bond fund that devotes a portion of its assets to community economic development.

§         The first mutual fund to be sub-managed by a community development financial institution.

 

o        Domini Money Market Account (DMMA)

§         An FDIC-insured money market account that places investors' assets with ShoreBank, the nation's oldest and largest community development bank, for use in its targeted community development lending program.

§         With more than $50 Million in assets, the DMMA is ShoreBank's single largest source of deposits.

 

·         Our Investment Approach: We seek to provide our investors with social and environmental return in addition to a financial return. As socially responsible investors, we work with three basic tools: Social and Environmental Screening, Shareholder Advocacy and Community Investing. Click on each heading to learn more.

 

o        Social & Environmental Screening: The use of social and environmental criteria to select investments. The application of social screens encourages greater corporate responsibility by demanding data from corporations on their performance in these areas. In addition, we believe that our screens help direct us to corporations lead by progressive management teams that are more likely to prosper in the long-term.

§         We seek to hold the securities and obligations of good corporate citizens, demonstrated by positive relations with their communities and their employees, by their environmental record, and by the quality and safety of their products. All of our investments are reviewed against a comprehensive set of qualitative factors in the following areas: Community, Diversity, Environment, Employee Relations, Non-US Operations and Product Safety and Usefulness.

§         We avoid securities and obligations of issuers that manufacture tobacco products, alcoholic beverages or firearms, derive any revenues from gambling enterprises or have an ownership share in, or operate, nuclear power plants. The Funds also avoid investment in major military contractors.

 

o        Shareholder Advocacy: As a socially responsible mutual fund manager, we seek to represent the concerns of our shareholders as we encourage corporations to improve their social and environmental performance. We do this by:

§         Voting our proxies according to published guidelines covering more than 90 corporate governance, social and environmental issues, and by publishing our votes.

§         Engaging corporate management teams in dialogue on social and environmental issues. Occasionally, we will file shareholder proposals on these issues. Our current efforts include sweatshops, environmental issues and diversity.

 

o        Community Development Investing: Devoting a portion of our assets to direct investments in underserved communities.

§         The Domini Social Bond Fund is sub-managed by ShoreBank, the oldest and largest community development bank in the country. Up to 10% of Fund assets may be devoted to direct community economic development investments.

§         The Domini Money Market Account (DMMA) places investors' assets with ShoreBank for use in its targeted community development lending program. The DMMA is ShoreBank's single largest source of deposits, and a critical source of assets for its work.