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.

More and more Catholic investors and religious institutions are asking how they can place their assets at the service of their mission without compromising their values. The good news is that this is now possible through ethical investing, socially responsible investing, and, more specifically, faith-based investing rooted in Catholic teaching.

Is it right for a Catholic to invest money?

The Church clearly teaches that investing is lawful and legitimate. We are stewards — not absolute owners — of the goods entrusted to us. This Christian understanding of prudent stewardship calls us to manage resources with responsibility and generosity.

Investing allows capital to contribute to economic and social development by supporting productive activities that generate employment, innovation, and prosperity. However, the key question is not whether one invests, but how one invests. Catholic responsible investing cannot finance activities that undermine human life, human dignity, the family, or the care of creation.

Principles of faith-based investing

Catholic values investing is built upon four fundamental pillars:

1. Respect for human life, from conception to natural death.
2. Defense of human dignity, avoiding any form of exploitation or abuse.
3. Protection of the family as the fundamental cell of society.
4. Care for creation, promoting sustainable and responsible development.

These principles, grounded in the Social Teaching of the Church, provide a stable ethical framework and a moral roadmap that remains consistent over time.

Ethical investing and socially responsible investing from a Catholic perspective

Socially responsible investing has gained popularity in recent years, but Catholic investing goes a step further. It is not enough to assess environmental, social, and governance factors alone; a Christian anthropology that places the human person at the center of society and the economy is essential.

Catholic ethical investing combines two inseparable dimensions:

• Exclusion of wrongdoing, avoiding sectors such as abortion, pornography, indiscriminate weapons, or research involving human embryos.
• Promotion of the good, investing in companies that actively contribute to the common good through just and responsible practices that do not conflict with Catholic moral teaching.

How can you know if a company aligns with Catholic values?

One of the greatest challenges for Catholic investors is access to reliable and transparent information. Many companies conceal practices contrary to Christian values behind complex structures or ambiguous corporate responsibility policies.

For this reason, it is essential to rely on a stock screening tool that allows for a thorough analysis of a company’s real activities. This is where professional investing tools become indispensable, making it possible to apply a rigorous ethical filter without sacrificing financial analysis.

Altum Explorer and professional investing tools

Altum Explorer is a professional Catholic investing tool created to evaluate thousands of publicly listed companies worldwide. Its methodology is based on the Altum Investment Guidelines, fully aligned with the Social Teaching of the Church.

Through this Catholic stock screener, investors can:

• Identify companies that are incompatible with Catholic values.
• Build customized Catholic investment portfolios.pu
• Compare ethically coherent alternatives.
• Make informed decisions using professional standards.

This makes Altum Explorer a key ally for Catholic investment advisors, Catholic investment funds, and institutional investors seeking both coherence and technical excellence.

Profitability and coherence are not opposites

One of the most common misconceptions is that faith-based investing requires sacrificing financial returns. Experience shows that it is entirely possible to build solid and competitive portfolios by applying clear ethical criteria.

Purposeful investing does not renounce financial performance; rather, it integrates it within a broader vision of integral human development. Coherence fosters trust, stability, and a long-term perspective.

Bearing witness through financial decisions

Investing according to Catholic values is a concrete way of integrating faith into everyday life. Every financial decision has a real impact on society. Aligning faith and finance is a way of living the Christian vocation within the economic sphere.

Ultimately, Catholic investing is not a trend, but a coherent response to the call to live the faith in every dimension of life — including financial decisions.

Faithful Investing emerges precisely as the answer to this concern. While it is often compared to ESG or socially responsible investing, Faithful Investing differs fundamentally in its principles, methodology, and purpose. Understanding this difference is essential for any investor seeking ethical investing, professional rigor, and full coherence with the Social Doctrine of the Church. 

What Is ESG Investing and Why Has It Become So Popular? 

ESG investing—Environmental, Social, and Governance—has become one of the most widely adopted frameworks within socially responsible investing. Its goal is to evaluate companies based on non-financial factors related to sustainability, social impact, and corporate governance, incorporating these metrics into traditional financial analysis. 

From a technical standpoint, ESG aims to identify long-term risks that may affect financial performance. As a result, it has been embraced by large asset managers, institutional investors, and regulators. However, when examined through the lens of Catholic investing, ESG reveals significant ethical shortcomings. 

The Ethical Limits of ESG Investing 

1. Subjectivity and Inconsistency in ESG Criteria 

One of the fundamental weaknesses of ESG investing lies in its structural subjectivity. There is no single, universal ESG standard. Each rating agency applies its own methodology, weighting criteria differently and interpreting indicators according to its own framework. 

As a consequence, the same company may receive vastly different ESG scores depending on the agency assessing it. For Catholic investors, this lack of consistency undermines the possibility of genuine moral discernment. Catholic responsible investing cannot rest on fluctuating metrics or socially driven interpretations. 

2. High ESG Scores and Violations of Human Dignity 

It is not uncommon to find companies with strong ESG ratings that are simultaneously involved in activities contrary to human dignity—such as funding abortion, engaging in embryo research, promoting ideologies that undermine the family, or tolerating unjust labor practices. 

What Is Faithful Investing? 

Faithful Investing, also known as faith-based investing, is an investment approach that explicitly integrates the moral principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church into financial decision-making. 

Unlike ESG, Faithful Investing acknowledges that investing is never morally neutral. Every investment supports certain business practices and social outcomes. Therefore, Faithful Investing is built on a twofold criterion: 

• Excluding companies whose activities contradict Catholic moral teaching 

• Promoting the common good through responsible ownership and engagement 

In this sense, Faithful Investing represents a form of purposeful investing that aligns capital with faith. 

The Social Doctrine of the Church as the Foundation of Faithful Investing 

The Social Doctrine of the Church provides the ethical framework underlying Faithful Investing. Rather than offering technical solutions, it proposes enduring moral principles that guide economic activity toward integral human development. 

Unchanging Moral Principles vs. Shifting ESG Standards 

A defining difference between Faithful Investing and ESG lies in the stability of its criteria. ESG standards evolve with political priorities, cultural trends, and social consensus. In contrast, Faithful Investing is grounded in immutable principles. 

Respect for life, human dignity, the family, and the care of creation form the pillars of authentic Catholic investing, offering moral clarity and long-term coherence. 

Why ESG Fails Catholic Investors 

ESG ultimately fails Catholic investors because it avoids moral judgment. Its purpose is not to discern good from evil, but to assess financial or reputational risk. For Catholic investors, this neutrality is insufficient. 

Catholic responsible investing requires avoiding the financing of intrinsically immoral activities—even when they are profitable or socially accepted. For this reason, many Catholic investment advisors and Christian wealth management firms recognize ESG as, at best, a preliminary filter, never a definitive ethical standard. 

Professional Investing Tools for Faith-Based Investing 

Altum Explorer: A Catholic Stock Screening Tool 

Applying Faithful Investing rigorously requires professional investing tools specifically designed for faith-based analysis. Altum Explorer is a Catholic stock screening tool developed to evaluate companies according to Catholic moral principles. 

Altum Explorer enables investors to: 

• Apply a Catholic stock screener with ethical rigor 

• Identify companies incompatible with Catholic teaching 

• Build a Catholic investment portfolio 

• Identify ethically compliant alternatives 

It is a genuine Catholic investing tool serving Catholic investment advisors, institutions, and families seeking coherence without compromising professional standards. 

Investing with Coherence: A Moral Responsibility 

Ethical investing is not merely about reducing risk—it is about moral responsibility. Money is not an end in itself, but a means at the service of the common good. 

Faithful Investing allows Catholic investors to live their faith consistently, including in financial decisions, demonstrating that profitability and moral integrity can reinforce one another

For more Faithful Investing, click here.

Investing as a Christian Responsibility

The Church has the responsibility to manage its temporal goods in the best possible way so it can continue supporting its pastoral, charitable, and social missions. Catholic teaching reminds us that money is never an end in itself. Investments should not be driven solely by profit; they can—and must—serve as instruments to promote the common good.

For this reason, faith-based investing requires avoiding sectors that contradict Catholic moral teaching, such as pornography, abortion, addictions, or labor exploitation. Today, several professional investing tools allow investors to identify when an investment conflicts with the Magisterium of the Church—a topic we will revisit later.

What the Church Teaches Today: Mensuram Bonam and the Social Doctrine of the Church

In November 2022, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development published Mensuram Bonam: Faith-Based Measures for Catholic Investors, offering concrete and updated guidance for Catholic investing in a complex global context shaped by technological, social, and environmental challenges.

This document, in full continuity with the Social Doctrine of the Church, stresses that the Church should not remain on the margins of the financial world but should participate in it to foster transformation from within. Furthermore, it reinforces the idea that money is never the ultimate goal but a means to serve the human person and the common good.

Economics and finance have a deep ethical dimension. Every investment decision must respect human dignity, the protection of life, the family, and the care of creation—precisely the principles that distinguish Catholic values in investing from generic socially responsible investing approaches.

Professional Tools to Ensure Faithful Coherence: Altum Investment Guidelines, Altum Explorer, and Altum App

To make faith-based investing truly possible, Altum Faithful Investing offers the Altum Investment Guidelines, an ethical framework that is unique in the financial sector. These guidelines clearly define—based on the Magisterium and the Social Doctrine of the Church—how to invest in a way that is consistent with the Catholic faith. They serve as the foundation for the ethical analysis applied to every company.

This analysis is made available to all investors through the Altum App, a free Catholic stock screening tool that enables anyone to verify whether a company is in alignment or in conflict with Catholic moral teaching.

For professional investors, Altum Explorer offers a more advanced solution. It is a comprehensive professional investing tool used by financial advisors, Catholic institutions, and wealth managers around the world. Altum Explorer provides detailed ethical assessments of thousands of companies and facilitates the construction of portfolios fully aligned with the principles of Catholic investing.

Together, these tools make it possible for both individual and institutional investors to undertake ethical discernment with clarity, transparency, and rigor, ensuring that every investment decision remains coherent with the faith.

Ultimately, Catholic investing is an essential dimension of the Church’s mission and can become a powerful engine for positive change. When the Church invests in ways fully consistent with its doctrine, it extends its mission beyond its traditional pastoral and charitable work. It supports companies whose core activity contributes to economic development, ethical business practices, and the common good. In this way, faith-based investing becomes a concrete expression of the Church’s witness in the world—transforming financial decisions into opportunities for evangelization, justice, and human flourishing.

For more Faith-based Investing. click here.

What Is ESG Investing and Why Has It Become So Popular?

ESG evaluates companies according to three pillars:

• their environmental footprint,
• their social policies, and
• their corporate governance.

In theory, a high ESG score indicates responsible resource management, fair treatment of employees, and transparent governance practices.

However, while ESG has represented progress compared to purely financial approaches, it has clear limitations for Catholic investors. They do not seek only sustainability—they seek moral coherence.

A company may receive an excellent ESG rating for environmental leadership while being involved in activities that contradict Catholic values in investing, such as supporting abortion-related services, conducting research using human embryos, or producing contraceptives.

This disconnect highlights why many Catholic investors feel ESG falls short of the ethical clarity they need.

Faith-Based Investing: Beyond ESG

Faith-based investing, also referred to as Catholic investing, goes further than ESG. It does not merely evaluate a company’s environmental or social record—it places the human person at the center of every economic decision.

Its reference point is not market trends but the unchanging moral principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church:

• the dignity of human life,
• the protection of the family,
• the pursuit of justice, and
• the care for creation.

While ESG frameworks shift over time and differ among rating agencies, faith-based investing rests on ethical principles that do not change. This provides moral stability and a level of ethical consistency that modern financial markets rarely offer.

Key Differences Between ESG and Faith-Based Investing

Although ESG and faith-based investing share certain goals—such as promoting positive societal impact—their ethical foundations and their understanding of the human person differ deeply.

The ESG approach seeks to identify companies that mitigate environmental and social risks. While useful, ESG criteria are often shaped by cultural trends, subjective interpretations, and widely varying methodologies across rating agencies.

Faith-based investing, in contrast, is rooted in enduring moral principles derived from the Church’s teaching. Its goal is not only to “avoid harm” but to actively pursue the common good, upholding human dignity, protecting life, and promoting integral human development.

ESG tends to view the individual as part of a broader economic system. Catholic investing sees the individual as the end, not the means, of economic activity.
Thus, it is not enough for a company to score well on sustainability metrics; it must also respect life and uphold Christian values in every aspect of its business.

Because ESG ratings can fluctuate significantly among different providers, coherence becomes difficult. Faith-based investing, by contrast, benefits from a stable and universal moral framework that does not shift with cultural currents or market pressures. In short, ESG may serve as a starting point for more responsible investing, but faith-based investing is the destination for Catholic investors who desire true coherence between faith and finance.

The Need for Professional Tools to Support Ethical Discernment

Applying a robust faith-based investing strategy requires professional investing tools capable of going beyond ESG.

At Altum Faithful Investing, we developed Altum Explorer, a stock screening tool designed specifically for Catholic investors and institutions. It analyzes thousands of companies worldwide and evaluates their alignment with Catholic values in investing.

With transparent methodology and rigorous ethical criteria, Altum Explorer enables the construction of 100% faith-aligned portfolios—combining ethics, financial quality, and advanced technology.

This discernment is not just about avoiding wrongdoing; it is about actively promoting the good, supporting companies that generate real positive impact on society and creation.

The Social Doctrine of the Church: A Moral Compass for Investors

St. John Paul II described the Social Doctrine of the Church as a moral guide for interpreting economic realities and shaping Christian action in the world.

From this perspective, investing is never a neutral act. Each investment decision expresses support—or rejection—of specific business practices and societal models.

Faith-based investing therefore excludes companies involved in activities contrary to Catholic teaching—such as abortion services, pornography, or embryo-destructive research—while promoting those that:

• contribute to the common good,
• uphold the dignity of work,
• protect creation, and

strengthen the family as the cornerstone of society.

Faith and Financial Returns: A Possible and Fruitful Union

Some believe that ethical investing or Catholic investing requires sacrificing financial returns. Yet experience shows the opposite: companies that respect human dignity, follow responsible governance practices, and act with long-term purpose tend to be more resilient and better positioned for sustainable growth.

For this reason, ethical investing and profitability are not opposing concepts.
Faith-based investing seeks precisely that harmony: strong financial stewardship rooted in Christian values.

Conclusion: Faith-Based Investing as a Deeper Alternative to ESG

ESG frameworks have helped move financial markets toward greater responsibility, but faith-based investing offers a more complete and cohesive path—one that integrates moral clarity, social justice, and a Christian vision of the human person.

For Catholic investors, investing is not only about generating returns; it is also about bearing witness through finance. Every dollar invested becomes an opportunity to promote the common good, support a culture of life, and live the faith in every aspect of economic activity.

These principles are expressed through four key pillars:

• Promotion of Human Dignity,
• Promotion of Life,
• Promotion of Family,
• and Care and Protection of Creation

These pillars serve as a compass to guide every investment toward an integral vision of the human person, always seeking the common good.

Human Dignity: the intrinsic value of every person.

We begin with a fundamental truth: human dignity does not depend on what one has, but on who one is. Every person, regardless of condition, deserves to be treated with respect and justice.

For this reason, Altum avoids supporting companies that exploit or degrade the human person, whether through pornography, addictions, or labor exploitation.

Religious freedom is also part of this pillar. A truly free society must allow each person to live and work in accordance with their faith and conscience. That is why we support companies that act with integrity, manage responsibly, and show care toward all their stakeholders.

The Value of Life: investing without compromising conscience.

We reject any investment that directly or indirectly undermines human life, or promotes abortion, euthanasia, or the death penalty. Our commitment is to protect life from conception to natural death, supporting initiatives that promote a genuine culture of life.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, many U.S. companies have adopted policies that fund abortion-related travel or donate to organizations responsible for hundreds of thousands of abortions each year. To invest with faith means to recognize that life holds a value far greater than any economic gain.

Family: the vital core of society.

The family is the first place where we learn to love, to serve, and to build community. It is where human relationships and social life begin.

Yet today, there are many attempts to distort the identity of the family and the values that sustain it. At Altum, we believe that strengthening families means strengthening society, which is why we avoid companies that promote ideologies contrary to Christian anthropology.

Care for Creation: safeguarding God’s work.

Creation is a gift entrusted to us — not to be exploited, but to be cared for. That’s why Altum promotes investments that are environmentally responsible, encouraging sustainable development and respect for nature as an essential expression of human dignity. Caring for creation is also a concrete way to love God and our neighbor.

Faithful Living. Faithful Investing.

The pillars of our investment guidelines are more than an ethical framework — they are an invitation to live out one’s faith in the financial world.

At Altum, we believe that investing can become an instrument of transformation, promoting life, family, freedom, and human dignity. This is also why we offer the Altum App, which allows anyone to see how companies are evaluated in light of these four pillars.

Investing is lawful and legitimate. What makes the difference is how you do it.

Do you know how Altum applies Faithful Investing? Click here.

What Are ESG Criteria and What Are Their Limitations?

ESG criteria represent a set of standards that assess how a company manages its environmental impact (such as CO2 emissions, resource consumption, waste, and biodiversity), its social responsibility (employee relations, working conditions, diversity, human rights, and consumer protection), and its corporate governance (management structure, transparency, risk management, ethics, and internal control).

These criteria aim to encourage good practices, initially providing investors with a sense of moral legitimacy accepting a lower rate of return in exchange for feeling they are making a positive impact aligned with their ethical priorities. This is why they are often associated with socially responsible investing.

However, ESG criteria have important limitations. For example, the metrics applied are often subjective and inconsistent. A company might receive an excellent sustainability rating while simultaneously being involved in activities that go against human dignity, such as funding abortion or engaging in questionable labor practices.
The disparity of methodologies used by rating agencies, their lack of transparency, and their frequent changes confuse investors, companies, and regulators, undermining trust in the system.

Today, ESG criteria have become a key factor in decision-making related to investments, legislation, public policy, and business activities, becoming the paradigm of an “inclusive and resilient” business. Yet, this perception is misleading: ESG criteria have shifted from being voluntary and recommended to a matter of mandatory compliance, often introducing standards that conflict with human dignity and the sanctity of life.

ESG Limitations vs. Investing with Transcendent Values

ESG seeks positive objectives, but lacking an unchanging moral foundation, it risks ethical contradictions. Companies can adapt to ESG metrics without genuinely committing to the dignity of the person. This is where Faith-based investing sets itself apart, going beyond ethical investing to establish clear and permanent principles that are not subject to ideological or political trends.

What Does Faith-based Investing Offer Compared to ESG?

In contrast to ESG criteria, Catholic investing—also referred to as Faith-based investing—proposes a truly human and transcendent approach. The Catholic Church’s Social Teaching offers an alternative economic and social framework that places the person at the center of economic and social life. Investment decisions must be based on unchanging principles and values that transcend time.

The Church’s Magisterium is not a trend; it does not shift with political or market forces. Thus, by making decisions based on faith, investors can build a strong and enduring investment strategy.

This form of ethical investing establishes a transparent and moral screening process that excludes any company contradicting these values. In this way, Catholic values in investing guide the process, not temporary market-driven standards. This approach allows investors to live out their faith through their financial choices, aligning their capital with their moral principles.

Faith-based Investing: An Integrity Investment Strategy

Catholic investing not only embraces socially responsible investing but also raises the standard. It is an alternative that combines profitability with consistency, evangelizing the world of finance. With Faith-based investing, investors seek not only financial returns but also promote a cultural transformation that defends life, dignity, and the common good.

St. John Paul II defined the Social Teaching of the Church as “the careful formulation of the result of attentive reflection on the complex realities of human life in society and in the international context, in the light of faith and the ecclesial tradition. Its main objective is to interpret these realities, examining their conformity or difference with what the Gospel teaches about man and his earthly and transcendent vocation, to guide Christian behavior accordingly”.

Thus, Catholics often face two crucial questions: Can the Church, as an institution, invest its money? Is it morally acceptable for a Catholic to invest in the stock market? The answer is yes, and not only is it morally lawful, but it is often necessary. The Church has the responsibility to manage its temporal goods in the best possible way to continue supporting its pastoral, charitable, and social missions.

Principles of Catholic investing according to the Social Teaching of the Church

Once these questions are answered, the Social Teaching of the Church reminds us that money is not an end in itself, and investments—whether from the Church or individuals—must be ethical investing: not simply profitable but essentially oriented toward promoting the common good.

For this reason, a Catholic investing strategy must exclude companies whose activities go against the Magisterium, such as pornography, abortion, addictions, or labor exploitation. Specifically, the Social Teaching of the Church addresses the economy and finance from a comprehensive perspective, rooted in charity, justice, and truth, and oriented toward full human development and the common good.

It does not provide technical recipes but moral principles and criteria for discernment to guide human action. Economy and morality cannot be separated; their credibility depends on ethics rooted in integral human development.

Ethics, common good, and discernment in faith-based investing

Ethics in the economic and business fields is key. It is not enough to create isolated sectors of socially responsible investing; the entire economy and finance must be infused with ethics, respecting the intrinsic demands of their nature.

We can thus understand that profit—as legitimate and necessary as it is—must serve to humanize the market and society, not be an end in itself.

In short, the Social Teaching of the Church is at the service of humanity, guiding human behavior in all areas, including work and the economy. It becomes a roadmap to morally identify where it is legitimate to invest and where it is not, helping both the Church and Catholic investors to remain integrity and demonstrate that faith and economy can not only coexist but strengthen each other through faith-based investing, ethical investing, and a solid portfolio aligned with Catholic values in investing.

The Social Teaching of the Church makes a clear call for finance and stock market investments to be seen as human activities with a deep moral dimension, supported by professional investing tools and reliable stock screening tools.

Faithful Investing is more than a financial strategy; it is a way of living the faith in the economic sphere. It aligns financial decisions with the teachings of the Church, always seeking two inseparable goals: achieving proper returns and ensuring that the investment portfolio respects and promotes the Magisterium of the Catholic Church at all times.

This approach represents true Catholic investing, where ethical criteria and Catholic values in investing guide every step. It is not only about avoiding sectors that go against human dignity but also about actively seeking those that promote the common good, the respect for life and human dignity, social justice, and care for creation.

Long-Term Investing: A Strategy of Faith and Prudence

Once you choose faith-based investing, the investor faces a key question: invest short-term or long-term? Although there is no single answer for everyone, we believe that the tradition of the Church — with its vision always oriented toward the future, eternity, and hope — finds in the long term especially fertile ground.

The benefits of this approach include:

• Risk reduction: Long-term investing smooths out market fluctuations and reduces the impact of volatility.
• Conscious decisions: It helps avoid impulsive decisions driven by fear or greed, common temptations in markets.
• Benefit of compound interest: Time is an ally that multiplies returns exponentially.
• Passive income generation: Good companies, with solid business models and ethical values, offer stable dividends that contribute to financial freedom.

But there is something even deeper: this type of investment brings inner peace that short-term strategies cannot provide. Knowing you are building wealth aligned with your faith, without sacrificing your principles for immediate profit, creates lasting tranquility. This serenity is not only economic but also born from the certainty of contributing to truth and goodness.

An Investment That Evangelizes the Financial World

In a world obsessed with immediacy, patience becomes a revolutionary virtue. Investing with a vision of the future, without succumbing to the frenzy of financial trends, is a concrete way of living the virtue of hope.

That is why ethical investing and socially responsible investing with a long-term Catholic vision generate not only economic wealth but also spiritual and social value:

• It supports companies that promote the common good, integral human development, and the dignity of work.
• It strengthens the sense of communion with society and creation, avoiding destructive or speculative models.
• It bears witness: every dollar invested is a declaration of principles that can inspire others to live their faith in finances.

Investing with Purpose and Integrity

Investing is always a financial decision with purpose. By focusing on the long term and choosing integrity with your faith, you not only ensure greater portfolio stability but also actively participate in the evangelization of the business and financial world.

Shareholders require integrity between faith and action. As the Social Teaching of the Church teaches, “the decision to invest in one place or another is always a moral and cultural choice.”

The economic and financial activity of a company is never ethically neutral; it is a human activity and, therefore, must be ethically guided. The validity and credibility of economic activity depend on ethics deeply rooted in the human person and their integral development.

Catholic Investing: The Shareholder’s Responsibility

Being a shareholder goes beyond owning a certain number of shares and receiving passive returns. Becoming the owner of a company means assuming an active role in its development and direction.

Socially responsible investing means that shareholders enjoy key rights—such as voting in the election of the board of directors, approving mergers, capital increases, and accessing financial and strategic information—but also responsibilities: participating in meetings, casting informed votes, and ensuring proper corporate governance.

Ultimately, faith-based investing requires shareholders to ensure that strategic decisions not only pursue economic profit but also reflect their values, principles, and sense of responsibility as owners. This transforms ethical investing into a real commitment, both to the sustainable growth of the company and to its long-term integrity. In this way, Catholic investors bear the great responsibility of using their votes in general meetings to ensure the company adopts Catholic values in investing and moral responsibility. This includes promoting, among other aspects, the responsible management of resources to foster and not hinder the integral development of employees and local communities.

Therefore, shareholders must not support resolutions involving:

• Issues that directly affect human dignity.
• Policies that restrict religious freedom for clients, employees, suppliers, or stakeholders.
• Proposals that, in the name of diversity, suggest policies or practices conflicting with Christian anthropology and the Catholic concept of family and marriage.
• Measures that promote or support abortion, contraception, euthanasia, artificial procreation, or the use of indiscriminate weapons.
• Actions that abuse natural resources and harm environmental respect.

Faith-based Investing: Purpose-Driven Investment

In short, a Catholic shareholder must demonstrate a strong commitment to ethical investing, consistent with their faith. Through a careful evaluation of the issues presented at general shareholder meetings—from the election of directors to matters of social and ethical responsibility—the exercise of voting rights should not only protect financial interests but also promote Catholic values in investing and the teachings of the Social Teaching of the Church.

Altum Voting Policy: A Stock Screening Tool for Catholic Investors Today

To support Catholic investors in this commitment, the Altum Voting Policy was created as a professional investing tool designed to guide voting decisions with a clear focus on faith-based and ethical investing. In this way, the Altum Voting Policy ensures that purpose-driven investment and faith-based investing lead every decision in shareholder meetings, guaranteeing that every vote aligns with faith and the moral responsibility of the shareholder.