SF Firm Launches Good Workplace SRI Fund

May 3, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A San Francisco-based socially responsible investing (SRI) firm has kicked off a new mutual fund designed to invest in companies with positive personnel policies.

According to a news report on SocialFunds.com, the Parnassus Workplace Fund by Parnassus Investments will draw on public surveys of best workplaces for employees, as well as its own research, to constitute the portfolio. The fund is launching with about 25 stocks and may eventually reach up to 50, according to Parnassus Chief Operating Officer Stephen Dodson

“The concept behind our new fund is simple: Companies which treat their employees well can be expected to provide superior products and services to their customers,” said Jerry Dodson, who founded Parnassus in 1984 and will serve as portfolio manager of the new fund, according to the Web site report “They should, therefore, outperform competitors over time.”

Also launching are two other funds: the Parnassus Small-Cap Fund and the Parnassus Mid-Cap Fund, according to the SocialFunds.com report. The funds will similarly implement Parnassus’ SRI screens, and will likewise start at about 25 companies before working their way up to 50 or so.

More information about Parmassus is at http://www.parnassus.com/ .

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