Five Eco-Friendly Funds

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Vatican is going carbon neutral and Australia is phasing out incandescent light bulbs.

So what can you do to help make the world greener? Why not check out mutual funds that specialize in eco-friendly investing. The sector has grown rapidly in the last few years. According to Michael Herbst, an analyst at Morningstar, net assets of the 10 actively managed green mutual funds the firm tracks have increased by 414% over the last three years.

If this kind of approach appeals to you, here are some places to start:

The (PORTX Quote)Portfolio 21 Fund (PORTX). Like traditional socially responsible funds, this one excludes companies in the nuclear energy, tobacco, gambling or weapons industries, as well as companies with poor records in employee relations, human rights, community involvement and product safety.

Unlike traditional SRI funds, it selects only companies whose business models meet one or more of these criteria:

• They are designed to succeed under ecological constraints
• They work toward reducing the ecological impacts of their products or services
• They invest in the environment
• They make environmental sustainability a priority
• They have strong environmental management
• They use resources efficiently
• They reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and the risk of toxic spills

The fund recently held about 23% of its assets in U.S. stocks, with the rest divided among shares of established companies in countries ranging from Australia to Finland.

Since its inception in 1999, the Portfolio 21 Fund has outperformed both the S&P 500 and the MSCI World Equity Index. The fund has also outpaced both indices over one-, three- and five-year periods.

The fund's top holdings include Nokia (NOK Quote), IBM(IBM Quote), HSBC(HSB Quote), Novartis(NVS Quote) and Canon (CAJ Quote)

Green Century Capital Management offers two environmentally friendly funds. Both avoid companies involved in nuclear weapons and nuclear energy; tobacco; fossil fuel; animal testing for non-medical purposes; factory farming; genetically modified organisms and agricultural pesticides. The funds also favor companies that respond well to shareholder initiatives.

The (GCBLX Quote) Green Century Balanced Fund (GCBLX) invests about 25% of its assets in bonds and not more than 75% in stocks. This fund invests in companies whose products and services demonstrate a commitment to enhancing and preserving the environment; companies with clean environmental records who disclose their policies and performance on certain environmental criteria; and companies that promote a healthy environment through methods such as renewable energy.