Catholic investing has gained increasing relevance as more investors seek to live out their faith also in the financial sphere. Inspired by the Church’s Social Doctrine, this form of ethical investing provides a clear, stable, and demanding framework for guiding economic decisions in coherence with Christian values upheld by the teachings of the Magisterium. In this way, investing becomes not only a technical exercise but also a concrete expression of faith and Christian commitment in the world.
The Church reminds us that the economy is never neutral: every investment has a moral impact and must always be oriented toward the common good. Within this context, ethical investing—also called faith-consistent investing or Faithful Investing—offers an approach that integrates responsibility, impact, and fidelity to the Magisterium.
What is catholic investing according to the Church’s Social Doctrine or Faithful Investing?
The Church’s Social Doctrine teaches that money is not an end in itself but a means, and Mensuram Bonam reminds us that “the economy is not an autonomous system detached from ethics. It is called to serve the human person and contribute to the common good.”
Faithful Investing seeks to align financial decisions with the faith, always pursuing two objectives: achieving adequate returns and ensuring that the investment portfolio always complies with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Through the Altum Investment Guidelines, we aim to integrate Christian values into every investment decision, following four fundamental pillars: the Promotion of Life, the Promotion of the Family, the Promotion of Human Dignity, and the Care and Protection of Creation. These principles not only guide our decisions but also provide a clear framework for building investment portfolios consistent with the Catholic faith without sacrificing returns.
Professional tools for rigorous ethical discernment
The lack of reliable information has historically been one of the greatest obstacles for those who wished to invest ethically and in coherence with their faith. Today, thanks to the Altum Explorer platform, professional investors can overcome this challenge through easy access to comprehensive, rigorous, and transparent analyses of thousands of global companies. Each company is evaluated from the perspective of Catholic values according to the Church’s Social Doctrine, offering investors a solid foundation for well-informed decisions fully aligned with their conscience.
For individual investors, the Altum App allows them to assess companies using the same criteria, making it easier to build portfolios that are consistent with their faith. In this way, anyone can construct faith-consistent portfolios supported by professional, clear, and intuitive tools.
Thanks to these resources, Catholic responsible investing has been consolidated as a technical, professional, and coherent alternative for institutions, dioceses, religious congregations, foundations, and any Catholic investor.
Responsible investing that strengthens faith
Investing according to the Church’s Social Doctrine is not just a technical choice; it is also a concrete way of bearing Christian witness. The Church’s Social Doctrine is at the service of the human person, helping to guide his or her conduct in a Christian way in every area of life, including work and economic activity.
Through Faithful Investing, the Catholic investor helps to build a world more aligned with the values of the Gospel, showing that faith and the economy not only can coexist, but in fact strengthen one another.
For more Faithful Investing, click here.
