Socially responsible investing is an approach to financial investments whereby you examine the values and principles of your investments to see if they match your own personal values. Some investment companies offer mutual funds that they deem to be “socially responsible.”
If you are Catholic, however, and really want to look at your investments by aligning them with Catholic values, where do you start? One good place is a set of guidelines issued by the US Bishops in 2003. This document, Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines, was originally developed by the bishops as the framework for how the US Bishops’ Conference (US Conference of Catholic Bishops) invests its own funds.
The principles and policies from this document are excellent and can be applied to any investment, whether it’s your own personal funds or that of a parish or diocese.
Strategies include 1) Do no harm, 2) Active corporate participation, and 3) Promote the common good.
Investment policies focus on specific areas relevant to today’s financial arena. These include protecting human life; promoting human dignity; reducing arms production; pursuing economic justice; protecting the environment, and encouraging corporate responsibility. The document gives many details for these areas, as well as relevant church teaching on each topic.
Next time you plan to buy a stock or reevaluate your portfolio, or if you serve on a parish or diocesan finance council, check out these guidelines before making your investment decision.
