Parnassus History
Parnassus Investments was founded by Jerome L. Dodson in 1984 as an investment management company offering socially and environmentally responsible investments to the public. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1971, Dodson worked for the San Francisco Local Development Corporation, a non-profit organization that gave business and technical assistance to minority-owned businesses. In 1976, he helped organize Continental Savings and Loan and became its first president. Continental made loans to finance housing and also developed an innovative program to allow depositors to put their money to work financing solar energy while still getting safety, liquidity and yield. In 1983, Dodson founded and became the first president of Working Assets Money Fund, a socially responsible money market fund.
Parnassus is one of the few firms in the social investment arena to do both its own social and financial research. We look to invest in companies that are good workplaces, have sound environmental policies, have a record of civic commitment and follow ethical business practices. At the same time, we also screen out companies that manufacture tobacco or alcohol products, are involved with gambling, are weapons contractors or generate electricity from nuclear power.
At Parnassus, our investment team conducts financial analyses and meets regularly with company management teams and industry contacts to find good investments. We also try to communicate clearly and honestly with our investors. Our goal is to provide the kind of reports that we would like to have from companies we invest in.
At Parnassus, we strive to provide a high level of service to our investors and provide them with good investment performance.