Riverwater’s Approach to Integrating Catholic Values
Faith-based universities, foundations, and individuals seek to align their investments with their values while earning a market rate of return. This pursuit of performance with purpose aligns well with Riverwater Partners’ mission: “To make the world a better place by growing wealth through responsible investing.”
Catholic institutions often follow the investment guidelines set by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Laudato Sí. These guidelines offer a comprehensive framework for investing in a way that honors life, protects human dignity, and cares for our common home.
Riverwater is uniquely positioned to guide this process. With customizable portfolios, transparent reporting, and faith-aligned engagement strategies, we help clients confidently steward their capital in line with their Catholic values.
Stewardship: Applying USCCB Investment Guidelines
The USCCB guidelines are clear: “Revenue should not be gained if it is gained by unjust means, comes at the expense of human life, reduces the human dignity of others, or leads to the destruction of our common home.” Investment strategies must reflect Catholic moral principles grounded in Church teaching (USCCB, 2021).
Riverwater’s stewardship philosophy reflects a commitment to aligning investment practices with both financial goals and Catholic ethical teachings. The following principles guide our approach:
- Financial Stewardship: A fiduciary duty to prudently pursue a reasonable, market-based return. Riverwater seeks market returns.
- Ethical and Social Stewardship: Investments must be selected based on the virtues of prudence and justice. Riverwater practices social stewardship using its Three Pillar Approach to Responsible Investing:
- Due Diligence: Evaluating the current responsible business practice of investment candidates.
- Engagement: Working with corporate executives toward improved real-world outcomes.
- Collaboration: Partnering with peers to inform our practice.
Solutions to Faith-Based Challenges
Implementing faith-aligned investment practices comes with unique hurdles. Below are some of the most common challenges faced by Catholic institutions—and how Riverwater Partners helps address them.
Interpreting Moral Guidance
Challenge: Determining what qualifies as a "significant" amount of revenue from prohibited activities requires judgment.
Riverwater Solution: We craft custom investment policy statements tailored to each client’s interpretation of Catholic guidelines. This removes ambiguity and provides a clear, values-aligned investment roadmap.
Transparency in Fund Holdings
Challenge: Many mutual funds or ETFs lack full transparency, making it difficult to assess alignment with faith-based values (Notre Dame Church Properties Initiative, 2019).
Riverwater Solution: We provide separate accounts with full transparency and the ability to customize exclusions, giving clients clear visibility into their investments and confidence in their alignment with core values.
Balancing Fiduciary Duty
Challenge: Faith-aligned investing is often perceived as a tradeoff with performance expectations.
Riverwater Solution: We aim for competitive market returns while delivering measurable social and environmental impact—offering a values-forward strategy that fulfills both fiduciary responsibility and mission alignment.
Responsible Investment Approach in Alignment with USCCB Guidelines
Riverwater Partners’ Responsible Investment approach enables faith-based investors to align their portfolios with the USCCB guidelines:
1. Avoid Doing Harm
Our screening process excludes companies that derive significant revenue from abortion, pornography, for-profit prisons, and other immoral activities as defined by Catholic teaching. Our proprietary scoring system measures each company’s physical, social and governance ‘footprint’ based on the factors shown. Each graph represents a percentage of Riverwater Partners holdings that have some attention to that factor.
2. Actively Work for Change
We engage company leaders to responsible business practices. These may include human rights, environmental stewardship, and governance issues, among others. We vote proxies in line with our Responsible Investment values.
3. Promote the Common Good
Riverwater advocates for public and corporate policies that promote resilient social and environmental systems. Riverwater Partners reports on its impact and progress in our annual Sustainability Report.
Conclusion
Aligning your investments with your faith is possible. While the USCCB guidelines provide a moral roadmap for Catholic investors, applying them effectively takes experience and diligence.
At Riverwater, we believe you shouldn’t have to choose between performance and principle. We help our clients pursue market-based returns while honoring the sacred dignity of life, labor, and the planet. If your institution is ready to take the next step in faith-based investing, we invite you to connect with us.
Let’s invest in a way that reflects what you truly value.
