But how do you make sure your money is only invested in good corporate citizens?

Overseas there are many funds and unit trust options that cater for specific viewpoints - like environmental concerns or ethical considerations (your money won't be invested in tobacco or arms, for example). In the US, an estimated 10% of all investments now have some sort of ethical slant.

In SA, social responsible investment (SRI) is much smaller - attracting only 1% of the local savings market.

"This is largely because our investment universe has been restricted to investments in listed entities as a result of the regulatory environment and attendant relatively restrictive investment mandates and benchmarks. This in turn has generally led to a herd mentality among fund managers and a fairly conservative approach to investing," says Cadiz Asset Management's head of SRI, Heather Jackson.

The most active segment for ethical investments is Islamic funds, which invest money according to Sharia law and shun alcohol and lending businesses. There are quite a number of unit trusts and other funds on the market, and most of the major retail asset managers have a product offering here.

The JSE has developed a Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index, which only includes firms that comply with the King report on good governance. But this only includes issues like transparency and shareholder protection - and there are no unit trusts or other investment vehicles that track it.

So, apart from only buying shares on the stock exchange that fit your ethical bill, your most viable option is to make sure your retirement fund is invested in the right places. Pension fund trustees can provide you with information about your own fund.

Some of SA's investment managers - including the Public Investment Corporation, which manages the pension investments of Government employees - have signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), launched in 2006. This means they commit to environmental, social and corporate governance considerations in investment decisions. In SA, Element Investment Managers was the first group to subscribe to the principles.

Check also whether your pension fund is invested in funds which support upliftment. Pension funds would typically allocate money to companies like Futuregrowth and Cadiz, which have funds that invest in infrastructure and developing communities.

Futuregrowth, for example, has a number of funds with exposure to the financing of housing, agricultural projects and black economic empowerment.

One project, which Futuregrowth and Cadiz invest in, is the Trust for Urban Housing Finance (THUF). The THUF project provides affordable housing for low-income groups in the Johannesburg and Durban inner cities. It has refurbished 4 647 units while creating 9 294 contracting jobs for renovating the buildings.

"The time is right for people to look at money positively," says Futuregrowth's marketing head Michele Usher.

"There have been issues with a lot of greed that got people into trouble. [Companies and investors] should start looking into the long-term benefits of the good that will come with operating and investing in a more sustainable way," says Usher.

For those who care for the environment, Nedbank looks set to launch a "green" exchange-traded fund in December. It will be the first product that offers SA investors the chance to go green with their money.

The ETF will track the Nedbank Green Index. The index is based on data from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a UK organisation that holds the largest database of corporate climate change commitment and action in the world. Companies are included if they provide sufficient environmental impact disclosure and are then ranked according to how well they're reducing their impact.