September 6, 2001                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

DOMINI SOCIAL INVESTMENTS HIRES SRI LEADER

KLD Founder and Former Research Director Steve Lydenberg to Focus on Global Issues

 

 

New York, NY – Domini Social Investments, manager of the Domini Social Equity Fund (DSEFX), announced today that Steven D. Lydenberg has joined the mutual fund firm as a principal responsible for global social investing analysis.  Mr. Lydenberg has been active in social investing for over 25 years and is a founder and former Research Director of Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini & Co. (KLD).

 

During his years at KLD, Mr. Lydenberg was instrumental in the creation and maintenance of the Domini 400 Social Index^SM, the first socially and environmentally screened equity index in the United States.  He also played a key role in the development of the firm’s Socrates Database, currently a major research tool for the socially responsible investment community.  He continues to serve as a member of the KLD Board of Directors and the Domini Social Index Committee.

 

Mr. Lydenberg has written and spoken extensively on issues relating to corporate accountability and socially responsible investing.   In 1986, while Director of Corporate Accountability Research at the Council on Economic Priorities, he co-authored Rating America’s Corporate Conscience, the first systematic assessment of the records of corporations across a broad range of social and environmental issues.  He is also co-author, with Amy Domini and Peter Kinder, of The Social Investment Almanac (1993) and Investing for Good (1994).  Mr. Lydenberg’s articles have appeared in journals such as Business Ethics (where he has served as a judge for the magazine’s annual corporate responsibility awards) and Business and Society Review.

 

“Steve Lydenberg is truly a pioneer in the field of socially responsible investing and one of the finest intellects in the investment world,” said Amy Domini, founder and managing principal of Domini Social Investments.  “We are very pleased that he is joining Domini Social Investments as we prepare to launch new initiatives and play a leadership role in international social investing and the creation of a more sustainable and humane global economy.”

 

“I am very excited about this opportunity,” said Mr. Lydenberg, whose responsibilities will include strategic development and product support at Domini, as well as research and writing on key social investment issues.  “I believe Domini Social Investments is one of a handful of leading companies poised to change the way the investment world does business.   As social investing becomes a worldwide phenomenon, I believe we can make a valuable contribution to this new and exciting field.”      

 

Mr. Lydenberg is Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sustainable Investment Research International (SiRi), the international network of socially responsible research organizations that he helped found. “SiRi offers a unique resource to the social investment community and underscores the growing globalization of socially responsible investing,” said Lydenberg. “I hope to devote an increasing amount of my time and energies to these emerging global issues in my new position at Domini.” 

 

Mr. Lydenberg serves on the Advisory Board of CANICCOR, a non-profit devoted to analysis of the lending records of major U.S. banks.  He holds degrees from Columbia College and Cornell University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

 

Domini Social Investments manages more than $1.7 billion in assets for individual and institutional investors seeking to create positive change by integrating social and environmental values into their investment decisions.  Its flagship fund, the Domini Social Equity Fund, was the first socially and environmentally screened index fund and is the nation’s largest socially responsible mutual fund.  The Fund includes companies with positive records in community involvement, the environment, diversity and employee relations, and excludes companies deriving significant revenues from alcohol, tobacco, gambling, nuclear power and weapons contracting.  In addition to the Domini Social Equity Fund, the company also offers the Domini Social Bond Fund (Ticker: DSBFX) and an FDIC-insured money market account (in partnership with ShoreBank), both of which focus on community economic development.

 

 

The Domini Funds are subject to market risks and are not insured. You may lose money. Although the Domini Social Equity Fund is no-load, certain fees and expenses apply to a continued investment, which are described in the prospectus. Some of the Domini Social Bond Fund’s community investments may be unrated and carry greater credit risks than its other investments. Please obtain a prospectus by calling 1-800-762-6814 or online at www.domini.com. Read it carefully before you invest or send money. DSIL Investment Services LLC (DSILD), Distributor.  The Domini Social Equity Fund is not affiliated with any bank and is not insured.  DSILD and ShoreBank are not affiliated.

 

Domini 400 Social Index^SM is a service mark of Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini & Co., Inc., (“KLD”) which is used under license. KLD is the owner of the Domini 400 Social Index^SM ("the Index"). KLD determines the composition of the Index but is not the manager of the Domini Social Index Portfolio, the Domini Social Equity Fund, or the Domini Institutional Social Equity Fund. 08/01