Socially responsible investments

Abstract

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is a decision making process concerning the allocation of free financial resources, where the investor aims at maximization of profit and minimization of risk on one part, and includes the socio-ethical and environmental-ecological considerations on the other. We can find four types of motives, describing them as mobilizing forces to undertake SRI. These are psychological and social, legal, economic and strategic, financial. Investors invest their funds in such investments by choosing the right investment strategy for them. We can find many different classifications relating to strategies and actions within the framework of SRI. The most important classifications of the SRI strategy were prepared by Global Sustainable Investment Review and Eurosif. These two organizations prepare also reports on SRI in the world and in Europe. The European market has the largest share in the global SRI market but the most dynamically developing market is Japan.