Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Fort Worth-based Trinity Fiduciary launches Socially Responsible Index for Catholic investors

By Pegasus News wire

FORT WORTH — Building on a commitment to Catholic investing, Trinity Fiduciary Partners, LLC, has launched the Faith and Family Values 100 (FFV 100) Index, a sector-neutral, market cap weighted index comprised of the 100 largest U.S.-based stocks that meet certain non-financial criteria based on Catholic social justice teachings. The objective of the FFV 100 is to produce investment returns that generally correspond to those of the S&P 500 Index. The top 5 holdings in the FFV 100 are Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble, AIG, Citigroup, and Apple.

Photo not provided by the Catholic Church

St. Thomas Aquinas opined in his Summa Economica that Catholics should put 60% of their assets in mortgage-backed securities

“We believe the FFV 100 screening approach gives investors of faith a full, accurate, and practical expression of their beliefs. We expect this approach to become the new benchmark for truly Catholic and orthodox Christian investing,” said Adam Auten, Chief Investment Officer for Trinity. “Our primary goal was to make sure that our 'non-negotiable' criteria were sufficiently broad and strict to give investors of faith confidence that they are avoiding material cooperation with the most egregious injustices committed by corporations. Our second goal was to make sure the screens were flexible enough that the investor could be assured of broad diversification and an expectation of competitive market returns into the future.”

Sam Saladino, CEO of Trinity, noted that the entrance of the FFV 100 into the investment market is good news for millions of Catholic investors and their advisors who seek to invest their money in companies that more actively support their faith and values. “Our vision is to influence companies to consider not just shareholders, but anyone influenced, directly or indirectly, by their policies and actions,” Saladino said.

With this move Trinity is responding to a sharp up-turn of interest in faith-based investing, which has been a growing sector of the financial markets for several years. Morningstar reports that between 2000 and March 2006, assets invested in religious mutual funds grew seven-fold, to nearly $16 billion.

Trinity is assembling an advisory board that will include influential Catholic business leaders, moral theologians, and bishops. The first board member is the Most Reverend Bishop Kevin Vann of the Fort Worth Diocese.

Source: Trinity Fiduciary Partners

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• Economics > Stock Market
• Christianity > Catholic

Comments

Scott Doyle Verified

In the words of the Virgin Mary: come again?

This alone makes me want to cry:

Exxon Mobil and AIG would neeeeeeeeeever commit egregious injustices.

Are we sure this isn't an elaborate practical joke on catholics?

10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle Verified

Is this something Catholic investors believe in?

A former top executive for General Reinsurance Corp. e-mailed billionaire investor Warren Buffett in 2000 about a reinsurance transaction with American International Group Inc. that triggered a criminal trial, a government postal inspector testified.

Keep in mind this only a portion of the fraud & bid-rigging allegations from NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer linked above. Still making the headlines!

Just sayin', is all.

9 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle Verified

Wow, the hits just keep on coming for AIG in the press.

Family Values 100, you say?

9 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle Verified

Sorry, can't help myself.

A federal court jury in Hartford, Connecticut has found four former General Re Corp. executives and one former American International Group executive guilty of corporate fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from allegations that the five helped cook AIG's books in an effort to boost its stock price.

9 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )