Faith-Aligned Screens

Avoid Harm. Pursue Virtue.

In addition to industry-standard due diligence practices, we assess each opportunity through an additional faith-aligned "lens." This Lens, based on Catholic Social Teaching, provides a filter to help assess opportunities and determine whether they are likely to be directed toward the Common Good.

The "Lens" consists of two assessments. In tandem, these offer a negative screening (the Social Responsibility Matrix) to eliminate potentially harmful options and a positive impact assessment (the Impact Investment Scale) to help magnify opportunities directed to enhance the common good.

Social Responsibility Matrix

Each investment has an impact. We first ensure that each opportunity avoids harming individual human dignity and the common good. To screen them, deals are assessed through our proprietary Social Responsibility Matrix.

Each deal is evaluated through a list of exclusions which includes offenses against human life, human dignity, the common good, and the environment. Each category receives a rating. It is either not problematic (green), problematic (red), or there is some reason for caution (yellow). If any part of a deal is deemed "Problematic", we will not move forward with it. If there is "reason for caution," the deal may be presented for consideration with explanations.

Many investors want their investments to be more than merely acceptable. They want to make an impact. However, there are few consistent industry standards to define "impact investments."

We created a simple, objective assessment to help investors discern whether an investment may be considered an "impact investment." We define each opportunity as Neutral, Toward the Common Good, or Impact.

Social Impact Scale

Neutral

These opportunities are morally neutral and not directed toward any special social good

Toward the Common Good

Demonstrate an effort to advance the common good either by eliminating harmful structures or by enhancing morally good action.

Impact

Directly advance the common good either by intentionally eliminating structures of sin or enhancing a moral good