Today's (3/20) Wall Street Journal has an article on page D2 describing several faith based mutual funds.  These funds use screens to restrict the investment universe to investments that agree with selected religious values. Companies that do not meet the criteria are not considered for the portfolios.

 

Socially concious investing, through funds such as these, is one way that Christians can "put their money where their mouth is". Often times, we end up putting our money into large mutual funds that support behaviors counter to our values, such as abortions, pornography, etc.

 

Denominations that were Included in the fund families listed by WSJ were Lutherans (Thrivent Financial), Catholics (Ave Maria), and Presbyterians (New Covenant Funds), as a series of general Christian funds (The Timothy Plan).  The MMA Praxis series of mutual funds, which are run according to Mennonite principles, were not listed.  The Capstone series of funds, which includes a fixed income fund that is backed by a series of church bonds/mortgages, were also not mentioned.

 

Before investing in any of these funds, you should consider your investment objectives and read the prospectus.  You should also consider the fees involved, as some funds levy large fees that can eat into your investment returns.  If you need additional assistance, I recommend finding a respectable, fee-based Christian financial planner.