By: Tom Carroll
Earlier this week, September 29th, was the feast day of Saint Michael. In the familiar picture below, St. Michael is depicted with wings and brandishing a sword. This reflects his status as an angel and the leader of God’s heavenly host. The archangel is engaged in warfare with the devil, who is shown here defeated and under St. Michael’s foot. Oddly enough, this picture got me to thinking about investing (but, then again, lots of things get me thinking about investing 🙂 )
What does the picture, in its most basic form, show? Clearly, this is a battle between good and evil.
Invest in Goodness
How does this relate to investing? Well, if our investments bolster companies that are committing evil acts, on whose side of this pictured battle would you suppose that puts us?
This is precisely why Catholic Investment Strategies offers a clearly faithful way to invest. Built upon the Investment Guidelines of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, companies involved in proscribed activities are avoided. Those that are less than “squeaky clean” are engaged in a dialogue intended to get them to tidy up their acts. And the results of those dialogues have been very impressive, ranging
from hotel companies acting to rid their facilities of child sex rings, to the corporate defunding of Planned Parenthood, to avoiding the use of slave labor in Brazil.
As you think about whether faithful Catholic investing is right for you, remember the words of Jesus in Luke 11:23: “He who is not with me is against me.” Surely, if you act to eliminate evil in the world, you’ll find yourself on the right side.
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” —Luke 12:33-34
About our guest blogger
Tom Carroll spent twenty-six years with Mason Street Advisors, the investment management subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life. At Mason Street, Tom headed the company’s foreign equity investment team as Managing Director. Previously, Tom served as an equity portfolio manager and/or analyst at Texas Commerce Bank, MGIC Investment Corporation, and Trust Company of Georgia. Tom is President Catholic Investment Strategies. Learn more about his company by visiting https://www.catholicinvestments.com/