Although there is still limited empirical evidence on the relative performance of socially responsible investing in comparison to conventional investing, one 2000 study concluded that social mutual funds perform no better or worse than conventional mutual funds.

FORBES: Friend or Foe? Fiduciary Duties Meet Socially Responsible Investments

The market has expanded since then so that there are more than 200 mutual funds and roughly a half-dozen exchange-traded funds that invest using one or more social or environmental criteria.

FORBES: Add Some Green To Your Portfolio

The business, begun in 2007, now has dozens of hedge funds, mutual funds and large banks as clients, all of which have embraced social media more aggressively in the past year, said Armando Gonzalez, chief executive of the real-time news analysis firm.

WSJ: In the Wired World, Feeds Drive Trading