February 3, 2000
DOMINI SOCIAL EQUITY FUND BEATS S&P 500
FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
Domini Social Investments manages nation’s 15TH
fastest growing family of no-load mutual funds
Socially Responsible
Investment Industry Enters Mainstream as Major Financial Firms Launch New SRI
Products
New York, NY – The Domini Social Equity
Fund (ticker symbol: DSEFX), the nation’s oldest and largest
socially and environmentally screened index fund, today announced a 1999
calendar year return of 22.63%. For the third consecutive year, the Fund
outperformed its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, which returned 21.04% during
the same period1. According to Strategic Insight,
the Fund is now the largest no-load socially responsible mutual fund in the
country, and Domini Social Investments manages the nation’s 15th fastest
growing mutual fund family.* Rate of growth is measured as net flows
as a percentage of beginning total assets under management. Morningstar awarded the Fund a five-star
overall rating as of 12/31/99 among 3,469 and 2,180 domestic equity funds for
the 3- and 5-year periods ended 12/31/99, respectively.**
"In 1991, we launched the Domini Social Equity Fund, the first socially
and environmentally screened index fund. The Fund's continued success, nearly
ten years later, has helped pave the way for other socially responsible funds,
by demonstrating that social screening can produce competitive returns,"
said Amy Domini, Founder and Managing Principal of Domini Social Investments.
"The past twelve months alone proved to be a watershed period for the
social investment industry. Some of the largest asset managers in the world have
introduced funds designed to meet the needs of the socially responsible
investor. Domestically, TIAA/CREF and
the Vanguard Group each announced
their entrance to the field. In Europe, Dow
Jones & Co. launched the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index in
partnership with Sustainability Asset Management of Zurich. In Japan, Nikko Securities entered the field with
an environmentally oriented fund and in Singapore UOB Asset Management and Unifem
Singapore, the local chapter of the United Nations Development Fund for
Women, recently launched the region’s first ethical fund."
"By screening their investments, social funds help to build a corporate
accountability structure -- a framework investors can use to evaluate and
address corporate social and environmental performance. As social investing
goes mainstream, it will become more commonplace to see corporations publicly
report on their social and environmental performance. Why? Because social
investors require this information to make their investment decisions."
"We welcome our new peers to the industry and will continue to urge them
to go beyond social screening and to embrace the other important hallmarks of
social investing: shareholder activism and community development
investing," Ms. Domini continued. "For example, we encourage all
mutual fund managers to publish the thousands of proxy votes they cast every
year on corporate governance issues such as environmental disclosure and
sweatshop conditions. Last year we became the first mutual fund in America to
publish our voting record and we invite all mutual fund managers to join us in
taking up this important responsibility."
Domini Social
Investments’ Net Sales Outpace Mutual Fund Industry
Domini Social Investments ended the year with $1.7 billion
in assets under management, a 93% increase from the prior year. The firm’s
growth was largely due to strong net sales of $539 million for the year, a 60%
increase over 1998. By contrast, according to Strategic Insight, net sales to the mutual fund industry as a whole
were down 23% for the same period.
An important part of Domini’s growth can be attributed to the increased demand
from 401k plan sponsors. Over the past year, the Domini Social Equity Fund was
added as an investment option to many 401k plans. The Fund is available through
some of the largest retirement plan distributors in the country, including American Express, Charles Schwab, Fidelity
Investments, Manulife Financial, Putnam Investments and a host of other
third parties.
Increasing Investor Awareness for Socially Responsible Investing
According to a recent national investor survey conducted on
behalf of Domini Social Investments by Audits
and Surveys Worldwide, a national research firm, 26% of adults surveyed had
heard of socially responsible investing and of those, 42% stated that they
considered whether the company or mutual fund they were investing in was
socially responsible.*** "Socially
responsible investing (SRI) is an investment strategy that considers more than
just a corporation’s financial statements. SRI factors in other vital issues
such as how the corporation treats its employees and the environment. Our
survey suggests to us that when people become aware of social investing and
what it is working to achieve, a significant proportion of them will screen
their investments. This conclusion is also reflected in our experience with
401k plans – when the Domini Social Equity Fund is available as an option, a
significant percentage of employees choose to invest. We expect to see these
numbers continue to grow as more and more people awaken to the wider
consequences of their investments," said Ms. Domini.
The First Mutual Fund
Company to Publicly Disclose its Proxy Voting Record
Domini Social Investments set an example of responsible
investing during the 1999 proxy season by becoming the first mutual fund
manager in the country to publish its proxy voting record. Domini’s votes can
be viewed at www.domini.com. The firm has also remained an active shareholder,
filing 10 shareholder resolutions for the 2000 proxy season with companies in
its portfolio on a range of issues. In addition, the firm has engaged many
companies in dialogue on social and environmental issues. These pending
resolutions and discussions concern board diversity, sweatshop conditions,
environmental stewardship and pay equity.
The Domini Social Equity Fund is a no-load, large-capitalization domestic
equity index fund based on the Domini 400 Social Index, a widely recognized
benchmark for measuring the impact of social screening on financial
performance. It is composed of 400 corporations that pass multiple, broad-based
social screens designed to meet the needs of the socially responsible investor.
The Fund seeks to invest in companies with positive records in community
involvement, the environment, employee relations, and hiring practices. It
strives to avoid companies with meaningful revenues from alcohol, tobacco,
gambling, nuclear power and weapons contracting.
****
New York based Domini Social Investments manages more than
$1.6 billion in assets for individual and institutional investors who are
working to create positive change in society by using social and environmental
criteria in their investment decisions. The firm is the 15th fastest growing mutual
fund firm in the country, among firms with over $500 million in assets. The
firm's flagship product, the Domini Social Equity Fund, is a socially screened
no-load index fund. Domini also offers an FDIC-insured community development money market account
through its partnership with South Shore
Bank of Chicago.
1.The
Fund also outperformed the S&P 500 since its inception on June 3, 1991,
returning 371.18% on a cumulative basis, compared to 358.95% for the S&P
500 and 19.79% on an annualized basis versus 19.43% for the S&P 500. The
Fund also outpaced the S&P 500 for the five-year period ended Dec. 31, with
an annualized return of 29.58% versus the S&P's 28.56% return.
*Source: Strategic Insight Simfund. Domini Social
Investments was ranked 15th in growth of assets out of 277 mutual fund
complexes for the year ended 12/31/99. Ranking is based on net flows as a
percentage of assets for all mutual fund complexes with more than $500 million
in assets under management. Money market fund assets were excluded. Strategic
Insight supports the research efforts of over 125 fund companies who
collectively oversee more than 85% of mutual fund industry assets. Their
subscribers also include service, distribution, finance, and equity research
firms, as well as non-U.S.-based organizations.
** MorningstarTM
proprietary ratings are subject to change monthly and reflect historical
risk-adjusted performance as of 12/31/99. They are calculated from the fund's
3- and 5-year average annual returns in excess of 90-day T-bill returns with
appropriate fee adjustments, and a risk factor that reflects fund performance
below 90-day T-bill returns. The Fund received four stars for the 3-year period
and five stars for the 5-year period ended 12/31/99 among 3,469 and 2,180
domestic equity funds, respectively. The top ten percent of the funds in their
broad asset class receive five stars and the next 22.5% receive four stars.
***Based on interviews conducted in December 1999. A total
of 1,003 interviews were completed. Of 450 investors, 26% had heard of socially
responsible investing, and 42% of those investors stated that they consider
whether the company or mutual fund they are investing in is socially
responsible.
Past performance is no
guarantee of future results. The Domini Social Equity Fund also beat the
S&P 500 in 1998 and 1997, with a total return for the year ended 12/31/98
of 32.99% and for 12/31/97 of 36.02%, compared to 28.58% and 33.40% for the
S&P 500 for the same periods. Total Return for the DSEF is based on the
Fund's net asset value and assumes all dividends and capital gains were
reinvested. Economic and market conditions change, and both will cause
investment return and principal value to fluctuate. Therefore, if you decide to
sell your shares, you may receive more or less than your original investment.
The Standard & Poor's (S&P)
500 Index is an unmanaged index of common stocks. Investors cannot invest
directly in the S&P 500 Index. These figures represent actual mutual fund
performance after all expenses. The Fund waived certain fees during the period
and the Fund's average annual total return would have been lower had these not
been waived.
Unlike
other mutual funds, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by
investing all of its investable assets in the Domini Social Index Portfolio, a
separate portfolio with an identical investment objective. The Domini 400
Social Index is an index. An investment cannot be made directly in an index.
Other fees and expenses apply to a continued investment in the Fund, and are
described in the Fund's current prospectus. Please obtain the fund's current
prospectus by calling 1-800-762-6814 or online at www.domini.com. DSIL
Investment Services LLC, Distributor (DSILD). The DSEF is not insured. The DSEF
and DSILD are not affiliated with any bank. 2/00
1228 08161
