Ann Alexander puts her heart as well as her money into mutual funds. Socially responsible investing is her passion. The Chapel Hill woman's mission is convincing everyone to invest in ways that reflect their core values.

In 1991, Alexander and her husband sold Wellspring Grocery, a popular Durham fresh-foods business, to the Whole Foods Market chain. The price wasn't publicly disclosed. Alexander says only that it was "a nice chunk of money."

It was the first time that the couple had money to invest. Alexander, who ran the grocery's business side for 10 years, wanted to find a financial adviser who would do it her way.

Seventeen years later, she says all her money is invested in SRI, shorthand for socially responsible investments. She's a consultant who talks to nonprofit boards and individuals about investing in values.

SRI directs money to enterprises that contribute to a clean, healthy environment, treat people fairly, produce safe and useful products, and support efforts for world peace, proponents say.

Critics say that excluding some industries, such as military and oil companies, from portfolios, limits investing and profit-making opportunities.

Alexander spent a recent Tuesday at a Charlotte seminar with a couple of dozen financial planners, mutual fund representatives and others involved in SRI. They talked about its growing clout.

Just a dozen years ago, SRI had the reputation of a fringe industry attracting hippie-type do-gooders who didn't care much about making a profit, Alexander said.

Domini Social Equity fund, started in 1991, pioneered the concept of excluding manufacturers of harmful products, such as tobacco, alcohol and gaming devices. It also uses environmental criteria in selecting stocks.

SRI assets in funds have exploded from $639 billion in 1995 to $2.7 trillion in 2007, an increase of 324 percent, industry tracker Social Investment Forum found.

During that same period, the number of socially screened funds has jumped from 55 to 260, speakers said. Nearly one in nine dollars under U.S. professional fund management is involved in SRI.

What's behind the growth? Speakers at the conference the number of funds is growing, more investors are learning about SRI and more people want to support green businesses as concerns grow about climate change.

Proponents estimate that 60 percent of socially conscious investors are women. Women get it, said Alexander, when they hear about an Enron's misdeeds, companies that use child labor or those that foul the environment.

Mary Rinehart, a certified financial planner whose Charlotte firm Rinehart & Associates offers SRI management, said she began studying it eight years ago after a female client asked about it.

Her clients are mostly traditional investors who are often receptive to SRI opportunities, she said.

But can you make profits from your passions?

"Socially responsible funds are such a diverse group that it's hard to make a judgment on how well they do," Morningstar analyst David Kathman said.

One downside, he says, is that some SRI funds screen out industrials and energy funds, and are overweight in other areas, such as technology stocks. That worked well in the late 1990s, he said, but those funds are trailing.

Financial planners at the Charlotte meeting said SRI funds do about the same over time as traditional funds, given time to weather market swings. Since the Iraq war began, many SRI funds have done poorly because they don't invest in defense contractors.