In our last article, we talked about several of the simple alternatives readily available to investors who are looking to put their investments more in line with their environmental concerns without sacrificing performance. Hopefully, I've piqued your interest.

While I last talked about some solid basic mutual fund choices that could be core holdings in an investment portfolio, for those looking to spruce up their portfolios by investing more directly in green industries, investors have an exciting smorgasbord of choices to choose from. Solar, wind, water, pollution mitigation are just a few of the industry areas where outstanding growth opportunities lie.

Indeed, with the burgeoning availability of mutual funds and ETFs in the "green" group, a mutual fund or ETF with an environmental focus probably makes the most sense for most investors. For a focus on energy, consider Long Island's own New Alternatives (NALFX, +41%) or Calvert's Global Alternative Energy (CGAEX, +23%) for mutual funds. Recently, in fact, a slew of new, more diversified green mutual funds that invest in a number of different green subsectors have also hit the street – the Gabelli SRI Green (SRIAX, +64%), Winslow Green Growth (WGGFX, +66%) and Alger Green (SPEGX, +50%), among others – are strong options. The selection seems to be growing by the day.  

If one prefers an ETF or mutual fund that focuses on a specific area, however, the Market Vectors Solar Energy (KWT), Powershares Clean Energy (PBW), or First Trust Global Wind Energy (FAN) are just a few of the many options. For those who want to drill down even further, investors can either choose to invest in the stocks of specific companies, like solar producer First Solar (FSLR), Danish wind producer Vestas (DWS), or French wastewater processor, Veolia (VE). As these are narrow sectors and tend to be more volatile than the markets as a whole, they are best left as modest additions to a portfolio.

As we pointed out last time, given the universe of green options these days, folks may prefer to find a financial professional to help them. Unfortunately, those expert in this area are few and far between. The good news is that the Social Investment Forum website (www.socialinvest.org) has a directory of financial professionals who can give you just the help you might need.

So there you have it. While you're getting the kids to increase their recycling, composting your grass clipping, and increasing the amount of fresh and organic vegetables you're buying at the markets, add some green to your portfolio. After all, there's no reason not to feel good about your investments, too -- particularly if it doesn't mean compromising on your financial or investment goals. 

Ron Stein is a certified financial planner and  the founder of Good Harvest Financial Group located in Huntington.

*Performance numbers as of 3/31/2010. Source: Morningstar, Yahoo Finance.