SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT AND THE STUDY OF THE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FUNDS DEVELOPMENT POSSIBILITIES IN LITHUANIA

Abstract

Within the course of the past several years the growth in the popularity of socially responsible investment has been gaining momentum. Today Europe, the United States of America and the Pacific Ocean region record hundreds of socially responsible funds. The value of investment in such funds today accounts for trillions of euro. There has been a tangible growth in popularity of this kind of investment lately in Europe. Europe is clearly holding a leading position both in terms of the number and the worth of investment into SRI. Although SRI are becoming more and more popular and interesting to growing numbers of investors, a similar conclusion about Lithuania would be clearly premature. In Lithuania a large portion of the society is hardly aware of this type of investment, and specialists in investment business are introduced to SRI in their professional performance or at subject-specific seminars. Currently there isn't a single socially responsible fund operating in Lithuania. With a view to determining the actual situation and prospects of SRI in Lithuania there was conducted a survey of investment experts (fund managers, financial brokers) and developed a theoretical model of a Lithuanian socially responsible fund. The present article covers in detail the situation related to SRI both on the global scale and in Lithuania, it also presents the findings of the survey performed for the purpose of the present paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]