(单词翻译:单击)
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
More and more people are considering the social and environmental results of their investments. Socially responsible investing has become a fast-growing part of the investment industry. Over two trillion dollars are invested using socially responsible methods. This is about nine percent of all money invested under professional management.
One way to invest is through mutual1 funds. A mutual fund gathers money from many investors2 to buy different securities. Mutual fund supervisors3 can use socially responsible methods to choose which investments they will buy. The funds' supervisors may buy only stocks of companies that meet the requirements set out by the fund. This process is called screening.
For example, a fund could invest only in companies that take measures to protect the environment. The most commonly screened stocks are related to companies that make cigarettes.
The Social Investment Forum4 in its two thousand five report said separate accounts use socially responsible screening the most. These are accounts that are privately5 managed for individuals or organizations.
Shareholder6 advocacy is another form of socially responsible investing. One example is the movement to stop investing in companies that did business in South Africa during the period of racial separation in that country. Shareholders7 sometimes sell stocks of companies that do not share their social values.
Community investing is the most direct form of social investing. This means providing credit or investing in businesses in a local community.
Today, about half of American families own stock in some form. And more people are considering the effect their investments have. This has caused some companies to consider social issues as well as business plans.
A recent public opinion study by Harris Interactive8 and the Wall Street Journal asked people what they thought were the best and worst American companies. The people named the software maker9 Microsoft as the best company.
One of the main reasons is the company's chairman, Bill Gates. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given billions of dollars to organizations around the world to support health care and education.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. Transcripts10 and archives are at www.unsv.com. I'm Mario Ritter.
1 mutual | |
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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2 investors | |
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 ) | |
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3 supervisors | |
n.监督者,管理者( supervisor的名词复数 ) | |
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4 forum | |
n.论坛,讨论会 | |
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5 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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6 shareholder | |
n.股东,股票持有人 | |
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7 shareholders | |
n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 ) | |
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8 interactive | |
adj.相互作用的,互相影响的,(电脑)交互的 | |
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9 maker | |
n.制造者,制造商 | |
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10 transcripts | |
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本 | |
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