Faith-consistent investing is neither a marginal alternative nor a passing trend. It is a necessary response for Catholic investors who seek to live their faith also in the economic sphere. In an increasingly complex, globalized financial world dominated by purely technical criteria, Faithful Investing emerges as a solid path to align capital, conscience, and the common good.
The Social Teaching of the Church (STC) provides a stable, profound, and coherent moral framework for discerning where and how to invest. This guide aims to show how to apply these principles in a practical, professional, and rigorous way—without renouncing profitability or financial excellence.
What Is Faithful Investing and Why Is It Essential for Catholic Investors?
Faithful Investing—or faith-consistent investing—is an investment approach explicitly based on the principles of the Social Teaching of the Church. Unlike generic ethical investing or socially responsible investing, Faithful Investing does not rely on changing criteria or volatile cultural consensus. Instead, it is grounded in objective and immutable principles.
From this perspective, investing ceases to be a neutral act. Every financial decision implies supporting certain business models and social structures. For this reason, Catholic investing requires moral discernment and responsibility.
The Social Teaching of the Church as the Foundation of Catholic Investing
The Social Teaching of the Church is not a technical manual of economics, but a moral compass. It reminds us that money is not an end in itself but a means, and 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.
The STC provides principles that illuminate human action also in the financial sphere. Saint John Paul II, in Centesimus Annus, reminded us that when the economy is separated from its moral dimension, it ultimately destroys itself.
Applied to finance, the Social Teaching of the Church reminds us that:
- Money is a means, not an end
- Profit is legitimate, but must be ordered toward the common good
- Economic structures must be at the service of the human person
Therefore, ethical investing from a Catholic perspective cannot be limited to maximizing returns without considering the real impact of the companies being financed.
Altum Investment Guidelines: The Four Pillars of Faith-Consistent Investing
At Altum Faithful Investing, we have drawn upon the teachings of the Social Teaching of the Church to develop our Altum Investment Guidelines. Through them, we seek to integrate Christian values into every investment decision, following four fundamental pillars: Promotion of Life, Promotion of the Family, 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 that are fully aligned with the Catholic faith, without compromising financial objectives.
At Altum, all our decisions are rooted in absolute respect for human life, from its beginning at conception to its natural end. The Social Teaching of the Church affirms the sacred and inviolable character of life, which leads us to exclude any investment in companies whose activities contradict this essential principle.
The Social Teaching of the Church places the dignity of the human person at its very core. Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore deserves full respect in all circumstances.
3. Family
The family, as the basic institution of society, is another central axis guiding Altum’s investment decisions. Its protection and strengthening must be promoted in all areas of social and economic life.
Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ emphasizes that the protection of the natural environment is both a moral and spiritual responsibility. At Altum, we understand care for creation as an indispensable element for achieving true social justice, since natural resources are not merely material assets but gifts from God entrusted to our responsible stewardship.
Professional Investing Tools at the Service of Ethical Discernment
For many years, the main obstacle for Catholic investors was the lack of reliable information. Today, this has changed thanks to professional investing tools specifically designed for Catholic investing:
- For professional investors, Altum Explorer provides easy access to comprehensive, rigorous, and transparent analysis of thousands of global companies.
- For individual investors, the Altum App allows companies to be evaluated using the same criteria, making it easier to build portfolios that are fully aligned with the faith.
The Social Teaching of the Church reminds us that faith must permeate all aspects of life, including economic decisions. Faithful Investing is not a renunciation, but a call to coherence.
Investing well is not only about achieving returns, but about investing with meaning. Because every euro invested is also a vote for the kind of world we want to help build.
