Investing in ethically responsible companies can reap better returns over the longer-term, a new study shows.

The study by funds manager AMP Capital Investors addresses the perception that investing in ethical funds might make you feel better but not make attractive returns.

AMP Capital Investors decided to test whether there was a fundamental advantage in investing in the sorts of companies preferred by ethical funds.

The study took 300 listed companies and designated whether they had a high or low corporate and social responsibility by looking at the company's occupational health and safety record, its impact on local communities, and the independence of the company's board.

AMP then stripped away other factors that affected the company's share price, such as its sector performance and size, to assess the specific impact on the share price of a company's corporate and social responsibility.

The conclusion was that the more responsible companies outperformed the less responsible companies by 4.8 per cent over four years and 3 per cent over 10 years.

"There's some statistical support that corporate social responsibility as a stand-alone thing can have some reliable value in Australia," head of sustainable funds at AMP Capital Investors Michael Anderson said.

He said community pressure meant that more and more companies were trying to meet expectations of corporate responsibility. That ultimately improved efficiency and helped make staff more loyal, he said.

"There are companies who are doing the minimum of what they need to in these areas. In the end they subsequently run into problems. They fall foul with consumers," Mr Anderson said.

"There are also companies who see these trends and try to leverage these trends."