Investing Morally

[Annette0723]

If I were just investing my own money, I wouldn’t hesitate to go through one of the Catholic funds.

However I have a state job. I have two options. A pension plan where the states invests a variable amount of money wherever they choose and guarantee me a set amount after retirement if I work for at least 6 years (which isn’t likely). Or an investment plan, where they add on 9% to my salary and I have a limited choice on how I want it invested.

Forgive my lack of investment knowledge But I can either choose between a conservative/moderate/risky option that is all set out for me, or I can choose to invest a certain % in bonds, certain % in intl funds, etc. It is all handled through some outside company.

What are my requirements here morally? Obviously if I choose either one of the plans, some money could go to companies that fund highly immoral things. Would I be culpable?

And for those who are a little more investment savvy, could I choose to put 100% in bonds and avoid a moral dilemna? (I actually have no idea what bonds are but they sound potentially less controversial).

If I decline both options I obviously lose a huge chunk of my salary. I’m waiting to get all the info in the mail on this but I want to be prepared to make my decision.

Thanks!

 

[1ke]

If I were just investing my own money, I wouldn’t hesitate to go through one of the Catholic funds.

However I have a state job. I have two options. A pension plan where the states invests a variable amount of money wherever they choose and guarantee me a set amount after retirement if I work for at least 6 years (which isn’t likely). Or an investment plan, where they add on 9% to my salary and I have a limited choice on how I want it invested.

Forgive my lack of investment knowledge But I can either choose between a conservative/moderate/risky option that is all set out for me, or I can choose to invest a certain % in bonds, certain % in intl funds, etc. It is all handled through some outside company.

What are my requirements here morally? Obviously if I choose either one of the plans, some money could go to companies that fund highly immoral things. Would I be culpable?

And for those who are a little more investment savvy, could I choose to put 100% in bonds and avoid a moral dilemna? (I actually have no idea what bonds are but they sound potentially less controversial).

If I decline both options I obviously lose a huge chunk of my salary. I’m waiting to get all the info in the mail on this but I want to be prepared to make my decision.

Thanks!

First, go to the library or bookstore and pick up a book on investing such as “Smart Women Finish Rich” or one of the Suze Orman books. It will explain all the basics of investing.

There are many factors to consider when investing-- your age, retirement goals, risk tolerance, etc. If you are young, you want growth oriented investments (such as stocks mixed with some bonds) but if you are within 10 years of retiring you want to ratchet back to the more capital preserving type investments (bonds, T-bills, etc).

Look locally for a continuing education class on basic investing at your local community college.

As to the morality-- you cannot 100% control your investment or spending dollars and where/how they are used. If you are limited to mutual fund options in your retirement accounts you can certainly pick from those funds.

You can always attempt to influence the companies you invest with as a stock holder by writing letters and such.

 

[mosher]

If I were just investing my own money, I wouldn’t hesitate to go through one of the Catholic funds.

However I have a state job. I have two options. A pension plan where the states invests a variable amount of money wherever they choose and guarantee me a set amount after retirement if I work for at least 6 years (which isn’t likely). Or an investment plan, where they add on 9% to my salary and I have a limited choice on how I want it invested.

Forgive my lack of investment knowledge But I can either choose between a conservative/moderate/risky option that is all set out for me, or I can choose to invest a certain % in bonds, certain % in intl funds, etc. It is all handled through some outside company.

What are my requirements here morally? Obviously if I choose either one of the plans, some money could go to companies that fund highly immoral things. Would I be culpable?

And for those who are a little more investment savvy, could I choose to put 100% in bonds and avoid a moral dilemna? (I actually have no idea what bonds are but they sound potentially less controversial).

If I decline both options I obviously lose a huge chunk of my salary. I’m waiting to get all the info in the mail on this but I want to be prepared to make my decision.

Thanks!

Find out who your local Knights of Columbus Field Agent is and have him help you with this. Their field agents are highly trained and professional and should be more than willing to help you with this question because it is more complicated and there may be some options that you do not see that he will find in the documentation. If your husband is not a Knight - that is an easy fix assuming that you are married. Even if your husband is not a Knight and you are not married the local Field Agent would most likely be willing to assist. I would offer myself for the same but you would have to PM me because it would involve information that I would not be comfortable talking about online.

 

[MrIrish]

If I were just investing my own money, I wouldn’t hesitate to go through one of the Catholic funds.

However I have a state job. I have two options. A pension plan where the states invests a variable amount of money wherever they choose and guarantee me a set amount after retirement if I work for at least 6 years (which isn’t likely). Or an investment plan, where they add on 9% to my salary and I have a limited choice on how I want it invested.

Forgive my lack of investment knowledge But I can either choose between a conservative/moderate/risky option that is all set out for me, or I can choose to invest a certain % in bonds, certain % in intl funds, etc. It is all handled through some outside company.

What are my requirements here morally? Obviously if I choose either one of the plans, some money could go to companies that fund highly immoral things. Would I be culpable?

And for those who are a little more investment savvy, could I choose to put 100% in bonds and avoid a moral dilemna? (I actually have no idea what bonds are but they sound potentially less controversial).

If I decline both options I obviously lose a huge chunk of my salary. I’m waiting to get all the info in the mail on this but I want to be prepared to make my decision.

Thanks!

I have the same problem at my job. I elected to go with one mutual fund that invests in Treasury securities, and an annuity that provides a set interest rate. (This is in TIAA-CREF, which gives us horrible choices for our 403(b) plans.) The interest-bearing account may have some short-term investments in companies I’d rather not invest it, but it’s hard to find out such information. And putting all my cash in Treasuries isn’t exactly prudent. Although I am no great fan of many of the things our government does, I would rather lend it cash (and at least get some of my tax money back), than invest in a business engaged in serious evil.

Going 100% bonds can be risky if you go through a mutual fund. As interest rates rise, the value of your shares will almost certainly go down. If I were you I would do some homework on personal investing before making any investments. However, even with (corporate) bonds you are going to expose yourself to potentially immoral investments, in the sense that you are lending money to a company that may use it to do vile things (e.g., research and develop contraceptives). In this day and age it is extremely hard to save and invest your money without getting involved in immorality in at least some small way. Think about your checking account, for instance - who knows what they possibly do with your cash! They could be lending it to the local satanist or porn distributor.

One last note, is that I stay away from stock funds when I know they invest in vile companies (such as virtually all pharmaceuticals, companies that distribute porn, etc.). Yes, this restricts the return I can make in my retirement accounts, but that’s life and it’s more important to me personally to invest morally than to make a killing in the market. Recently I rolled over an old retirement plan to an IRA, and now I have some investments in three of the Ave Maria stock funds. I get the best of both worlds that way!

 

[MichaelJDePauw]

YOU CAN’T TRUST AVE MARIA MUTUAL FUNDS!

If you look at the listing of their holdings which can be easily found on many ratings companies like morningstar.com , you will find numerous companies in their funds that have been shown to support Planned Parenthood or other abortion supporters. Just Google AVEFX holdings or AVEGX holdings, and you will see what I am talking about. The following abortion and/or same-sex “marriage” supporting companies are in their “pro-life” funds:

Cisco Systems
Exxon Mobile
Laboratory Corporation of America
Hewlett-Packard

There are more than these I’m sure, but these stood out to me. I don’t necessarily say that Ave Maria Funds are deliberately doing this. I do not know that for sure. However, given what I know, I cannot in good conscience recommend them to others. Also, these funds are terrible investments from a purely monetary standpoint.

I hope this helps.

God bless,

Michael DePauw

P.S.-I am happy to share with anyone who wishes a portfolio that I put together for my mother’s retirement account which only invests in companies that can be morally invested in. My code for this is much stricter that Ave Maria Mutual funds.

 

[1ke]

10 year old thread.

reported.