At Altum, we believe that every act of Catholic, faith based investing should pursue a dual objective: achieving a reasonable return while fully respecting the Magisterium of the Church. That’s why, when we assess whether a company is investable or not, we don’t just look at returns, cash flows, and risks; we also examine whether its conduct protects—or violates—human dignity, including religious freedom, a fundamental right intrinsic to the person. This approach is part of the four pillars guiding our methodology—life, human dignity, family, and care for creation—and is reflected in our Altum Investment Guidelines, a framework for ethical investing rooted in the values of the Gospel.
Why Religious Freedom Is Part of the Human Dignity Pillar
Religious freedom is neither a secondary nor merely cultural matter; it is a direct expression of human dignity. When a state, company, or pressure group restricts, penalizes, or discriminates on the grounds of faith, that dignity is violated—along with the justice and common good that socially responsible investing seeks to promote.
According to the Social Teaching of the Church, investing is never a neutral act. That’s why faith based investing explicitly incorporates this right into its ethical criteria, ensuring that your money does not end up funding initiatives that undermine freedom of conscience or worship. In doing so, it builds a model of faith based investing where human dignity and Catholic values in investing are at the heart of every financial decision.
Exclusion Criteria: How to Detect Persecution or Restrictions on Faith
In our ethical analysis process, we apply a screen that identifies signals which could undermine respect for freedom of religion and worship, for example:
- Corporate support for bills or regulations that limit religious freedom (e.g., banning the right to conscientious objection for healthcare workers, or preventing a business owners from choosing not to lease a property to a company that engages in practices contrary to their faith).
- Collaboration with governments or agencies known for repressing religious minorities.
- Internal policies that discriminate against employees, clients, or suppliers based on their beliefs (e.g., sanctions for publicly expressing one’s faith).
- Lobbying campaigns or funding of groups seeking to exclude faith from public life and impose different ideologies.
These criteria coexist with other traditional exclusions in faith based investing forming a stable framework for ethical investing that is not subject to trends—unlike certain ESG approaches that are more elastic in their definitions.
From Theory to Practice: Professional Investment Tools for Ethical Screening
Ethical discernment requires verifiable and traceable data. That’s why Altum has developed Altum Explorer, an investment tool for asset managers, financial advisors, and professional investors that evaluates thousands of global companies through the lens of Catholic principles and classifies their level of compatibility. With it, investors can:
- Identify, with evidence, corporate links to activities or initiatives contrary to Catholic investing (including violations of religious freedom).
- Build 100% faith-aligned portfolios and simulate compliant alternatives.
- Integrate ethical analysis into the workflow of the Catholic investment manager or advisor without compromising technical rigor.
For retail investors, Altum App enables independent analysis of companies aligned with faith based investing and Catholic values in investing. These are professional-grade tools for ethical and socially responsible investing, allowing investors to apply real-time faith-driven filters with the transparency Catholic investors have long been seeking.
Faith based investing is possible. Make sure your investments don’t compromise your integrity.
To learn more about how Altum apply the Social Teaching of the Church in its financial analysis, click here.
