Natural Investing

Jack and Hal developed the Rating in 1990 while writing Investing from the Heart (Crown), to give a simple graphic representation based on a qualitative evaluation of each SRI fund's screening process. They looked at the screens stated in the fund's prospectus and verified with the fund managers how they actually applied the screens, either informally or via written policy. Mutual funds were scored and then awarded a to  rating, with being a fund with minimum screening and given for a fund that was comprehensively screened on many social issues.

Nearly a decade later, Jack and Hal wrote Investing with Your Values (Bloomberg Press, 1999); during that span the SRI mutual fund industry had grown from 12 funds in 1990 to 55 mutual funds that had defined social criteria in their prospectus, plus over 100 others that qualified due to their selection of particular stocks and bonds. As a result, NI refined the Rating system and added new credit to funds that participate in Community Investing and Shareholder Activism.