The Bethesda-based
Calvert Group, a socially responsible investing (SRI) fund family of eight with $2 billion under management, is standing behind its
"Know What You Own" campaign by offering monthly updated fund information on its website in order to better educate its shareholders. The company believes that this effort makes it the the first mutual fund family to provide a complete listing of holdings on a monthly basis.
Market research commissioned this year by Calvert Group shows that most mutual fund investors have very little knowledge of the companies they own through their mutual fund portfolios. When asked, only 37% of investors could name even a single stock in their portfolio. So the socially responsible investing funds have concerns that shareholders will own stocks in companies whose policies conflict with their personal beliefs and values.
Calvert has recently been running an educational campaign -- "Know What You Own" -- with an Internet search service that allows investors to enter the name of any one of the 9,000 plus mutual funds to search for tobacco stocks or any other industry they may not want to support.
"It is important for investors to know what kinds of companies they are supporting in their mutual funds," said Barbara Krumsiek, president & chief executive officer of Calvert Group. "We received repeated requests from investors and financial professionals to disclose our holdings on a timely basis and decided it was the smart addition to Calvert's Web based 'Know What You Own' service." 
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