Catholic Values Advocacy

Picketing and verbal showdowns will seldom produce positive change in the corporate boardrooms of America. Eliminating ownership of a particular stock will not accomplish change because a corporation’s primary accountability is to its shareholders rather than to its community. Corporate executives are more concerned with the next quarter’s earning projection by financial analysts than with meeting family values. So how do you get the attention of a corporate board, obtain improvement in the quality of life, and still have opportunities to earn a fair return on your investment dollars?

To start with, we recognize that there are some companies in a situation where there is no reasonable opportunity to change the company in the near future. We identify them for exclusion from portfolios to avoid any scandal that ownership would bring to the investor.

We then identify companies using social screens where we see the opportunity to accomplish positive value changes. Our Catholic Values social screens are based upon the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) investing guidelines. Ownership with an active program with a reasonable chance to change the company and eliminate the issue is the best of all situations.

There are so many major companies that have been changed that informed investors understand the added benefit of using their investment portfolio to “Do Good”

Advantages

• The limited exclusionary list of companies provided by this strategy yields a larger investment universe with higher return potential.
  
• Ownership creates access and opportunity to affect change.
  
• Summit Catholic 100 Shareholder Advocacy is provided by Aquinas Associates.
  
• Aquinas Associates is a member of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility
  Association of 275 Socially Responsible Institutional Investors.
  

Primary Advocacy Related Issues

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