Water water everywhere, but not a lot to drink.

Calvert Investments realized in early 2008 that since this statement is true, it made the resource a real investment opportunity.

The company, known for its socially responsible investing strategy, launched a global water fund, which is sub-advised by KBC Asset Management International, Ltd., of Dublin, in October 2008 to capitalize on the opportunity.

“Water issues are becoming a very hot political topic,” said Jens Peers, the manager at KBC of the Calvert water fund.

“At Calvert, we believe access to water is indeed a fundamental right,” said Bennett Freeman, the senior vice president, sustainability research and policy at Calvert Group Ltd., who was in New York for a conference on the United Nations Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, a non-binding, public-private initiative launched in 2007.

The supply of fresh water is less than 1%, Peers said, but demand has been increasing exponentially because of pollution, population growth and the increase in meat consumption that competes for agricultural land.

The Calvert water fund doesn’t invest in bottled water, said Freeman, a former State Department official during the Clinton Administration. “That’s an area that troubles us,” because of the waste disposal problems the bottles present.

Peers said the fund invests in water utilities and other infrastructure such as makers of pipes, valves and pumps as well as companies that build water infrastructure, irrigation and filtration systems. Companies that engage in water-related services, such as metering and chemicals, are also part of the fund’s mix.

There are a few Chinese companies that have made their way into the fund but the majority of companies are based in the United States.

“More and more investors are looking into this space,” Peers said. The Calvert Global Water Fund has a minimum initial investment of $2,000 and subsequent minimum investments of $250.

The fund has about $15.5 million in assets with approximately 47 issues in the portfolio.  Among the top ten holdings as of late last year are: Agilent Technologies Inc., American Water Works, Pentair Inc., Flowserve Corp, Suez Environment and Danaher Corp.

Frances McMorris was named editor-in-chief of ON WALL STREET in February 2008, after serving as executive editor since December 2004. She also created and serves as the host of AdvisorTV, an online video interview show appearing at onwallstreet.com.

From indictments to verdicts and appeals, Ms. McMorris has covered many major, high-profile cases in both federal and state courts as a legal affairs reporter for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, Newsday and The New York Law Journal. The cases that she has covered include: the seditious conspiracy trial of Sheik Oman Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric convicted of being the spiritual mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center; the constitutional battle over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy; the Crown Heights riot murder trial; federal racketeering cases against violent gangs; the Long Island pet cemetery trial and several securities fraud and insider trading cases, among others.

The legal issues she has written about are diverse and numerous, ranging from economic espionage to employment discrimination rulings and the first story to report that there is no expectation of privacy for employee emails written in the workplace.

Ms. McMorris is a 1993 graduate of Fordham University School of Law and admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars. She has appeared on the former CNNfn to give expert commentary on trials.

She also served as president of the Newswomen’s Club of New York for three years while working as an assistant managing editor at The Daily Deal in New York.

ON WALL STREET magazine has a circulation of more than 90,000—reaching financial advisors and brokers at the most prestigious brokerage firms who serve high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth investors.