Kokomo, IN - First National Bank & Trust is teaming with the Prentiss Smith and Company, Inc. (Brattleboro, VT) to bring a new socially responsible fund to its current customers as well as foundations and individuals seeking this style of investment. The fund, called the Socially Screened Total Return Fund, is available for qualified 401-K programs, personal trust accounts, and retirement plans. A total return fund is flexible and allows for investment across growth and value stocks, bonds, money market funds and others. The Socially Screened Total Return Fund is designed to help take advantage of shifting opportunities.

“We are excited to provide our Trust customers with this new investment opportunity,” said John O’Donnell, President of First National Bank & Trust, “Socially responsible funds performed well in a tough market environment and they are showing strong signs of growth as we move into a more positive market environment.”

“Our investment decisions are guided by our commitment to a thorough financial and social evaluation of each investment,” says Trudy Walker, Senior Vice-President at Prentiss Smith, “We believe that a company’s long-term success is inexorably linked to a positive relationship between the company and its employees, community, and the environment.”

Guidelines for investment decisions for First National Bank & Trust’s Socially Screened Total Return Fund include:

• Environment. The fund invests in companies that conduct their business operations with respect for the environment. The fund favors companies that show strong leadership in addressing the environmental challenges faced by their particular industries. They avoid companies that have demonstrated a consistent disregard for the environment.
  
• Employee Relations. The fund invests in companies that provide equal promotion opportunities for all employees, fair wages, opportunities for professional development, and employee benefits. The fund avoids companies that have a history of discrimination, anti-labor practices, or violations of health and safety regulations.
  
• Human Rights. The fund avoids companies that contribute to the repression of basic human rights through their business relationships, operations, or products.
  
• Products and Services. The fund invests in companies that create products or provide services that enhance the quality of life. The fund avoids companies that produce weapons or weapons systems, nuclear power or equipment, and tobacco products.

The Prentiss Smith & Company, Brattleboro, VT, has been involved in social investing since 1982. The Prentiss Smith & Company believes the ideal investment program builds the economic security of the client while seeking to improve the social and natural environment. Prentiss Smith & Company believes for too long, people have separated their social ideals from their economic decisions. The essence of socially responsible investing is that it emphatically ties together the social goals shared by so many with the daily economic decisions that face all people. In our political system we have the opportunity to vote every two years. In our economic system we vote with our money every day. Our decisions as investors and consumers influence the kinds of products that are produced, the growth of some companies and the decline of others, wage rates, corporate policy toward the environment, and ultimately, the quality of life. When an investor chooses an investment manager, they are in a sense electing an economic representative. The ideal investment program builds the economic security of the client while improving the social and natural environment.

First National Bank & Trust

First National Bank & Trust (www.firstnationalbank.com) is Indiana’s largest privately held bank. Headquartered in Kokomo, Indiana, First National Bank & Trust has more than $1.6 billion in assets and 27 full-service banking offices located throughout central Indiana. First National Bank & Trust operates financial centers in 20 communities, including: Brazil, Carlisle, Carmel, Clay City, Farmersburg, Fishers, Geist, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Logansport, Marion, Martinsville, Mooresville, Noblesville, Plainfield, Richmond, Shelburn, Sullivan, Terre Haute, and Tipton. First National Bank & Trust is a full financial services provider including retail and commercial banking and trust services. Hasten Bancshares is the parent company of First National Bank & Trust and its two subsidiaries, First National Investments and First National Insurance.

First National Bank & Trust

First National Bank & Trust

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