| There had been a growing population of people who wished to invest their money in socially responsible and Biblically responsible investments. They have sought to invest in mutual funds that include or screen for corporate stocks that demonstrate socially aware practices and screen out those that do not. The problem was that people who wanted to invest in screened mutual funds did not have a valid, reliable, and uncompromised resource to guide them in making investment decisions to realize a viable rate of return. The purpose of the quantitative and comparative research study was to determine what percentage of mutual funds that screened for socially and Biblically responsible investments (with expenses) earned more, less, or the same as the rates of return (with expenses) of an unscreened S&P 500 index fund during a five-year period. Each S&P 500 index fund always yielded the same rate of return, and financial outcomes have only differed based upon each fund's expenses. There were no participants. After establishing the hypotheses, the author of the research study collected data online of the average five-year rates of returns (with expenses) of screened mutual funds and compared them with an unscreened S&P 500 index fund to ascertain the percentage of screened funds that earned more than, less than, or the same as the unscreened funds. The data was posted on graphs for analyses and conclusions. The research study has added to the overarching social, investment and empiricist theories. The author of the study has demonstrated that this research can serve as a guide to assist socially and Biblically responsible investors and has added to the extant literature. The conclusions of the study were that 18.75% of screened funds (with expenses) outperformed the unscreened S&P 500 index fund (with expenses). One recommendation for future research would be to examine the number of religious organizations that invest in socially responsible and Biblically responsible investments that are consistent with their belief systems. |
