Catholic investing begins with a fundamental conviction: investing is not a neutral act.
Every financial decision represents an allocation of capital that supports certain economic activities, business models, and visions of society.
For this reason, at Altum Faithful Investing we have developed the Altum 500 US Catholic Ethos Index Equal Weight, an index designed to provide investors with a clear benchmark that combines financial rigor with moral coherence.
The index was created with a specific goal in mind: to offer a genuine alternative for those who wish to practice faith-based investing, enabling investors to participate in financial markets without compromising their principles.
In an increasingly complex financial world—where passive investing accounts for a large share of global capital flows—having benchmarks that reflect solid ethical values has become more important than ever.
Why Catholic investors need new benchmarks
For decades, financial indices have served as reference points for building investment portfolios, measuring market performance, and designing financial products.
However, these traditional indices have been built solely on financial criteria, without considering the ethical or moral implications of the companies they include.
Many widely used benchmarks contain companies that are directly or indirectly involved in activities that conflict with the Social Teaching of the Church, such as abortion, human embryo research, or corporate practices that undermine the family and human dignity.
The Altum 500 US Catholic Ethos Index was created precisely to address this need—offering a new guide for investors seeking a benchmark that does not conflict with their faith.
What is the Altum 500 US Catholic Ethos Index?
The Altum 500 US Catholic Ethos Index Equal Weight is an equity index designed to provide a clear benchmark for responsible investing from a Catholic perspective.
The process begins by analyzing the 2,500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States by market capitalization.
Altum then applies its Altum Investment Guidelines, rooted in the Social Teaching of the Church, to exclude companies whose activities or corporate practices conflict with Catholic principles.
From the remaining universe, 500 companies that meet these ethical criteria are selected.
Altum Investment Guidelines
The Altum Investment Guidelines are based on four core pillars:
- Promotion of human life
- Promotion of human dignity
- Protection of the family
- Care for and protection of creation
This framework goes beyond analyzing a company’s core business activity. It also evaluates corporate practices, ensuring a deeper and more comprehensive ethical assessment.
Why the index uses an Equal Weight structure
Traditional indices typically weight companies according to market capitalization, giving greater influence to the largest corporations.
The Altum 500 instead uses an equal weight structure, where every company in the index receives the same allocation.
This approach reduces concentration in mega-corporations, improves diversification, and distributes capital more evenly across the economy.
Investing is a moral act
Investment decisions influence the real economy and shape the type of society that develops.
For this reason, the allocation of capital cannot be considered morally neutral.
Catholic investing seeks to align financial returns with the common good.
The Altum 500 US Catholic Ethos Index represents an important step toward providing an independent, transparent, and faith-aligned benchmark for investors who want to integrate Catholic values into their financial decisions.
