FaithInvest has published a new case study describing its recent faith-consistent investing project with the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.
The Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) is an international Roman Catholic religious congregation of women that spans four continents. Founded by Cornelia Connelly in 1846, the guiding principle of the SHCJ is the enhancement of human dignity, which inspires actions towards a more just, compassionate and harmonious world informed by Catholic Social Teaching.
In an effort to create an Investment Policy and Guidelines statement (IP&G) more in line with their values, members of the SHCJ European Province chose FaithInvest to help guide and accompany them on their journey of greater faith-consistent investing, a process which was conducted over the course of several months.
It included regular and ongoing sessions of the core team, presentations to the trustees, and convenings among the various stakeholders.
The SHCJ’s goals at the outset of the process were to enhance its IP&G and essential governance elements to integrate faith values more fully, consistent with existing liquidity, risk, return, and expense parameters and expectations, and to consider establishing an ongoing process for faith values integration and timely ethical decision making.
FaithInvest’s Director of Faith-Consistent Investing Programmes, Mathew Jensen, CFA, said a critical area of focus was on what FaithInvest describes as the 'front door language'. This is language at the beginning of an IP&G statement that articulates the values of the faith organisation, and the investment activities to be used in expressing those values.
'We strongly encourage well-documented ‘front door‘ language – how will key beliefs, teachings, and values manifest themselves in our investments? Strong, clear language around this is of vital importance, because it’s the anchor for everything else that follows‘ – Mathew Jensen, CFA, Director of Faith-Consistent Investing Programmes, FaithInvest
The project was successfully concluded in late 2023 with the SHCJ Trustees approving multiple recommended changes to the IP&G, with plans to pursue future enhancements such as proxy voting guidelines for the Trust to share with asset managers, and continued exploration of impact investing.
In describing the outcomes of the process and the SHCJ's revised IP&G, Sr Carmel Murtagh of the European Province said: 'Development of our new policy has given us greater confidence for engaging with investment managers; our work with FaithInvest has given us greater capacity and understanding for dealing with managers'.
To learn more about the SHCJ's faith-consistent investment journey, read the case study, which can be found HERE.