Has your organization implemented financial stewardship best practices in accordance with Catholic Socially Responsible Investing principles? We have created a short checklist that can help you assess your organization’s Catholic investment stewardship.
Excellent stewardship of financial assets means adopting specific practices in a number of areas. Do you have these financial steps and processes in place for your organization?
- Implement a systematic, continuous process that ensures all investments comply with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines.
- Adopt an Investment Policy Statement that clearly states the purpose and governance of the funds; an investment objective; the types of asset classes and allocation to be used; the investment managers; and how disbursements should occur.
- Invest in appropriate strategies that deliver risk-adjusted, long-term inflation-adjusted returns that meet the investment objectives within the Investment Policy Statement.
- Ensure that investment management fees, custodial fees, and trading costs are as low as prudently possible and be able to quantify those fees. Preferably, management fees are institutional rather than retail.
- Receive clear reporting that allows for fiduciary oversight and governance by providing detail on assets held, fees and transaction costs, and performance calculated as a time-weighted rate of return for multiple trailing periods and since inception. The team at Augustine Catholic Socially Responsible Investing is happy to answer your questions about how our approach and investment strategies can fit your institution’s needs.
