Integrity Between Faith and Action
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.
