"Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is no longer relegated to a tiny corner of the investment landscape; indeed, according to the Social Investment Forum, SRI now accounts for $2.7 trillion, up more than 18% since 2005," says Chuck Carlson.

Here, the editor of The DRIP Investor offers five stock that both rank high for their social responsibility and also stand out based on more traditional earnings and valuation analysis.

"The Social Investment Forum estimates that more than one in every 10 dollars under professional management in the U.S. is involved in SRI investing. What is driving the growth in SRI?

"One factor is the increasing numbers of women and younger investors among the investor populace have fueled demand for SRI investments.

"In addition, we see an increased focus on environment, social, and corporate governance issues. Further, widely publicized stories concerning global warming as well as various corporate governance issues, have caused many investors to reconsider how they deploy their investment capital.

"The most prominent of all the SRI market indexes is the KLD Domini 400 Social Index. The index employs a variety of environmental and social screens when selecting components. In a nutshell, the index selects companies that have positive environmental, social, and governance performance.

"To be sure, I've always been a bit tentative about the concept of SRI investing. It seemed to me that to pick stocks solely on SRI criteria left out an important part of the equation - investment merit.

"Because traditional SRI investing often excludes important investment factors such as earnings and valuation. Still, plenty of stocks exist within the SRI framework that adhere to SRI principles yet offer outstanding return potential for investors."

Chuck Carlson adds that five stocks that rank highly according to SRI are also members of his Editor's Portfolio, which is determined by investment merit. They are Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), and Walgreen (NYSE: WAG).

In addition, he adds, "Among other favorites, I especially like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) as a stock offering a compelling buying opportunity. I think Wall Street's concern that Microsoft will overpay for Yahoo is overshadowing the company's solid growth prospects. I expect the stock to move sharply higher once there is greater clarity on the Yahoo deal."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.