Socially Responsible Investing—Enough?

Pope John Paul II stressed that “even the decision to invest in one place rather than another…is always a moral and cultural choice” (Centesimus Annus). Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is used and encouraged by the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in order to “exercise faithful, competent and socially responsible stewardship in how we manage our financial resources.”

Like the Stewardship Foundation, they base their values, directions, and criteria for financial choices on the Gospel. You can learn more about the Church’s SRI guidelines here.

But buyer beware. Outside the USCCB, the SRI movement is dominated by what some might consider left-leaning political concerns, not necessarily the issues supported by the Stewardship Foundation or the USCCB. For example, concerns might include torture and kidnapping in South America, forced child labor in Asia, and damage to the environment throughout the world. But what about the commercialization of sex through pornography, music, and motion pictures? Yet it receives little if any mention from most SRI advocates.

We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to choose the right financial advisor with the right software, tools, and experience to help you choose an investment portfolio that that is fully vetted based on moral truth as given to us in the Gospel. To learn more about socially (or morally) responsible investing, call Joe Finneran now at (614) 800-7985. And please share this with your family and friends whom you believe may be interested.