George,

I'm very surprised that Ralph Nader isn't aware of the many "Social Investing" funds that have been available for many years - unless, of course, he is aware of them, and the fact that their performance generally lags most diversified funds, like Fidelity Magellan, has moved him to go for the growth at the expense of his principles. I follow that group of funds, and know that one can choose a fund based on one's avoidance criteria. It is almost impossible to influence fund managers to drop a particular company based on social principles - the best way to be true to your own principles is to either not own funds at all or go to the funds that have as their investment objectives the avoidance of certain "bad" industries or the intentional investment in certain "good" industries.

Sue Lewis (electronic mail, November 2, 2000).