In This Issue - April 2001

Whether this shift in thinking is what brought a Wall Street veteran to a baby boomer Treasury Department in 1995, or merely the cultural by-product of the halcyon days of the dot-coms, is anyone's guess. All the same, the market has seen market-averse environmentalists and technologically oriented investors, urban 20-somethings and aging radicals, all arriving at the conclusion that even if markets have minds of their own, compound interest knows no ideology.

In the spirit of these socially minded investors, Working Money provides not one but two articles discussing the phenomenon of "socially responsible" investing. Social responsibility funds invest in companies whose behavior, products, and/or corporate culture reflect a philosophy of clean-conscience  living for all. Of course, while avoiding the tobacco companies, the more egregious of smokestack industries, and the kind of corporations that used to do business with former pariah states like South Africa, these socially responsible funds must still bring in competitive returns and keep their expenses down. So if investing in The Establishment plays tricks with your social conscience, you'll want to see how a few of the top socially responsible funds do their thing.

In this issue, we also feature an interview with Charles Rinaldi, portfolio manager of the Strong Advisor Small Cap Value Fund, which has brought three-year returns of 19.7% to a very fortunate group of investors. All the more impressive is the fact that Rinaldi's fund returned 28% in 1999 -- the year of the Great Tech Advance -- and 26% in 2000 -- the year of the Great Tech, ahem, Retreat. All this with what Rinaldi tells us was "100% tax efficiency." How did he and his team do it? The interview starts on page 74.

And that's just for starters. In this issue, Working Money introduces the concept of real estate investment trusts (REITS), an investment vehicle that had been overlooked for years before their breakout in 2000. We also bring you the basics of bond investing, take you on a tour of European funds, and help you build your growing stock portfolio into an effective retirement plan. So settle back and take a look, and we'll show you how investing can be socially responsible and interesting to learn about.