Impact stories
For the Faith Impact Project, we spoke with various faith-based investors (both asset owners and fiduciary intermediaries) who can be placed across the various parts of the Spectrum of Capital or who are at different stages in the journey towards impact investing. We spoke with them to learn about the nature of their organization, their values and their approach to faith-based investing, responsible investment, ESG and impact as we know how important peer-to-peer recommendations are among faith-based asset owners. We call them Impact stories. These give a narration of our findings from the conversations we had with each organization as well as publicly available sources. The objective of the impact stories is not to provide recommended advice, but simply to allow FBOs to share their experience with peers. We will continue updating stories, and uploading additional ones, as more and more FBOs consider the move into impact.
FBOs
Faith-based organisations
Church Commissioners for England
The Church Commissioners for England is the largest and one of three entities, or national investing bodies (NIB), responsible for managing the assets of the Church of England. Of the Church’s total wealth, the Church Commissioners are tasked with investing roughly GBP 9.2 billion of assets under management (AUM) in a manner that is consistent with the Church of England’s ethical policies and ensures the Church’s financial security.
The Church Commissioners have been purposefully making impact investments since as early as 2016, after having implemented faith-aligned RI and ESG guidelines across all asset classes. It is perhaps for these reasons, their advocacy and their meticulous impact framework, that the Church Commissioners are often cited as a leader of responsible / impact investing.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form to receive the full Church Commissioner for England impact story.
De Protestantse Kerk
The Protestant Church in The Netherlands (PKN) was established in 2004 as a merger between three separate churches: the Dutch Reformed Church (NHK), the Reformed Churches in The Netherlands (GKN) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in The Netherlands (ELK). The organization was established following a call from 18 ministers of Protestant and Reformed churches in The Netherlands, in recognition of their shared mission to spread word about the Coming Kingdom of God.
With the fusion of the three different Protestant denominations also came a shared investment portfolio, which is currently managed by several different fiduciary intermediaries in the country. The year 2007 saw PKN define a sustainable investment policy for the first time. More recently, in 2016, The general synod proposed for up to 10% of the church’s assets to be invested in impact. We spoke with Koert Jansen, portfolio manager at De Protestantse Kerk in Nederland and managing director from Nieuwe Beurskoers, an ecumenical association tasked with implementing PKN’s sustainable investment ambitions, to learn more about the church’s journey into sustainable and impact investing.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full De Protestantse Kerk impact story.
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Missionary Sisters for the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) is a Catholic sister organization founded in 1880 by Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Its mission is spread the love of Christ by supporting the most vulnerable populations in the world, with a focus on women, children, immigrants and frail elders. The organization manages an endowment of which all of its public market allocation is in RI/ESG funds, and most its private investments are in impact funds across a range of sectors, including, financial inclusion, renewable energy, affordable housing and sustainable agriculture. Today, the sister congregation has integrated its mission and values to approximately 90% of its total investment portfolio, most of which are in emerging markets.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, pleas fill out the form below to receive the full Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus impact story.
Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood (FMDM)
An impact investing journey can differ significantly from one FBO to another, depending on not only faith, but also the size of the organization in terms of financial and human resources. For FBOs with a leaner team or assets under management (AUM), challenges may revolve more around dedicating resources to learn about impact investing and selecting the most suitable fiduciary manager. The UK-based Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood’s (FMDM) experience of venturing into impact investing perhaps best exemplifies the journey for ‘smaller’ FBOs. We spoke with FMDM Head of Finance Shaun Cooper and drew the following case study from a presentation he delivered for a 2020 webinar hosted by Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative (CIIC), Operation Noah and partner organizations.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood (FMDM) case study.
The Nathan Cummings Foundation
The Nathan Cummings Foundation (NCF) is a multigenerational family foundation based in the US working to create a more just, vibrant, sustainable, and democratic society. The board, which mostly consists of the founder’s third generation descendants, refers to the family’s Jewish tradition of social justice as a formation for the foundation’s mission-aligned investment decisions. In 2017, the board declared a unanimous vote to move 100% of NCF’s assets into impact investments, focusing on social/racial justice, inclusive economy, climate change and other themes that are complementary to the foundation’s mission and programmatic activities. With approximately half a billion dollar under management, it is one of the largest US foundations to commit itself fully to impact investing.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Nathan Cummings Foundation case study.
Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
Writing for The Forward, a Jewish digital newspaper based in the US, Beth Sirull states: “I should not have to check my values at the synagogue door”. In the article, she expounds on her thoughts that Jewish investments and values are not mutually exclusive. Just as one would not serve pork at a meeting, the investment committee should be similarly engaged with their values in their decision-making process. As Sirull explains in an interview with US-based Jewish investor network JLens: “What turned me on to this, Jewishly, was the shema and the phrase “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your might.” The shema is a central prayer to Jewish life. And Rashi, one of our leading scholars in Jewish tradition, said that “all your might” is not about your physical power, it’s about your wealth, your worldly possessions - how you steward your assets.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego case study.
Christian Super and Crescent Wealth Super
This impact story is comparison between a Christian and an Islamic pension funds in Australia. Founded in 1984, Christian Super is an Australian superannuation fund (pension fund) that aims to invest its beneficiaries’ super in a manner aligned with Christian values. It started making impact investments in 2006, and by 2021, its allocation has grown to roughly AUD 150 million. Founded in 2013, Crescent Wealth is an Australian superannuation fund. It has a relatively smaller size (< AUD 500 million) and targets the country’s Muslim minority through its Shari’a-compliant responsible investment (RI) products. Like Christian Super, Crescent Wealth, which identifies itself as the first and only Islamic superannuation fund, seeks to add social value to its beneficiaries’ community through a productivity and community-focused approach. While the two organizations have not incorporated impact into their investment philosophy and strategies to the same extent (given that Christian Super has existed and explored RI / impact investing for much longer than its peer), a comparison of the two paints a good picture of how governance structures, opportunities and limitations may differ in the journey of moving capital towards impact investing, depending on where an organization is based and which faith community it targets.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Comparative: Christian Super and Crescent Wealth case study.
The English Sangha Trust
The English Sangha Trust (EST) is a Buddhist charity founded in 1956. The Trust supports the ordination and training of Theravadan Buddhist monastics in the United Kingdom by acquiring, improving and maintaining properties that can be used as Buddhist centers, training grounds and residences for monks, nuns and lay practitioners. The EST’s activities are guided by the plans of the Amaravati and Cittaviveka monasteries in the UK to build more sustainable and resource-efficient properties. Since 2011, Amaravati developed a thirty-year plan to replace 22 of its structures with low-maintenance, energy efficient ones, reducing energy consumption to 10% of its original level. As the Trust states in the Zug Guidelines to Faith-Consistent Investing:
“By setting such an example in our own house, we hope to set an example for our lay community and the wider local and national community”
We spoke with Venerable Ajahn Amaro of the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK to learn more about how the Trust practices its values in its investment activities and decisions, and tries to lead its faith community through example.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Sangha Trust case study.
International Waqf Fund
International Waqf Fund (formerly Islamic Relief Waqf) is a UK-based endowment associated with the charity organization Islamic Relief Worldwide. Since the year 2000, the Fund has been offering Muslims across geographic regions a way of giving charity that generates positive impact in a sustainable manner. Funds raised from donors are invested into Shari’a-compliant products, of which the generated returns are allocated back into charity projects across the globe. The organization describes its vision as “inspired by Islamic values” and envisaging “a world in which thriving communities help everyone achieve their God-given potential.
We spoke with Mohammed Kroessin (Head of Microfinance at Islamic Relief Worldwide) and Morshed Alam (investment committee member and Program Manager at International Waqf Fund), to learn more about what it means for an endowment to be inspired by Islamic values and how these manifest in their investment decision processes.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full International Waqf Fund case study.
Fiduciary intermediaries
Portocolom
Portocolom is a Spanish investment advisor specialized in responsible investment, ESG and impact investing with approximately USD 1 billion in assets under advisement. It was founded in 2008 to provide sustainable investment advise to institutions, with the thought in mind that their services would particularly be helpful for faith-based organizations (FBOs) who often lack internal financial expertise. Roughly 70% of Portocolom’s clients invest through a faith lens, the majority of them are catholics.
Portocolom positions itself as an intermediary between client faith-leaders, who often act as the main contact person within the FBO, and financial product providers such as banks. Portocolom thereby tries to facilitate communication between the two parties, while ensuring that clients’ assets are channeled into faith-aligned sustainable investments. The organization’s aim is to invest 100% of its clients’ assets under management in Responsible Investment and 10% in impact. We spoke with Head of Investing and Impact Ana Guzman regarding questions such as what FBO’s look for in a fiduciary intermediary and FBOs’ attitudes towards sustainable and impact investing.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Portocolom case study.
Oikocredit
Oikocredit is a worldwide cooperative and social impact investor. The organization focuses its investments in three sectors: financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. As of 30 June 2021, Oikocredit had 529 partners across 59 countries. In March 2021, the cooperative’s members included 239 churches and 233 church-related institutions.
We spoke with Director of Social Performance Innovation Ging Ledesma to learn more about Oikocredit’s mission and its approach to selecting partners and tracking impact performance.
The foundation of Oikocredit in 1975 was inspired by members of the World Council of Churches and their need for an ‘ethical’ form of investment. Oikocredit’s mission is to create opportunities for responsible investment by providing loans, equity investments and capacity building support to organizations that work towards improving the lives of low-income individuals in a sustainable way.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Oikocredit case study.
The Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church (CFB) and Epworth Investment Management
Epworth Investment Management (Epworth) was established in 1966 and acts as the independent, commercial arm of the Methodist Church’s Central Finance Board (CFB). While the CFB is responsible for the in-house management of the Methodist Church’s assets (approximately GBP 974 million at 30 June 2021 in assets under management), Epworth helps charity organizations and other churches manage their assets through pooled funds. These are subsequently invested into CFB’s strategies and held to the same ethical standards set by the Methodist Church. Epworth’s aim is to invest “with Christian ethics” and fulfil both the financial and ethical investment requirements of its clients. As such, Epworth maintains an active approach in setting its ethical and sustainable investment approach by regularly reviewing potential issues brought up by their beneficiaries or ethical investment advisors.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full CFB/Epworth Investment Management case study.
Mercer / Pavilion
Helping mission-oriented organizations (including FBOs) make value-aligned investments requires a slightly more tailored process compared to traditional investment consulting. For one, there is the extra challenge for advisors to help an FBO decide on what its values actually are and to subsequently incorporate these into its investment policies.
One fiduciary intermediary that has built its experience around helping non-profits, endowments and FBOs is Pavilion. We spoke with Partner Texas Hemmaplardh to learn more about how the team he leads at Pavillion helps FBOs shift their portfolio towards impact investments.
Pavilion specializes in alternative investments and works with approximately 350 non-profit clients around the globe, including the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego (JCFSD).
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Mercer / Pavillion case study.
Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia
In 2018, Indonesia became the first sovereign issuer of Green Sukuk, or Shari’a-compliant green bonds, in US dollars. The five-year issuance was oversubscribed and raised a total of USD 1.25 billion from investors, of which 29% are identified as “green” investors and 32% are based in Muslim majority countries. Since then, through its investment arm, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance has raised over USD 2.75 billion from three annual issuances.
The inception of Indonesia’ Green Sukuk was not only a result of the government’s growing recognition for the social, economic and financial risks associated with climate change. It was also inspired by the faith-based needs of a growing Muslim market and the revival of an 11th century Islamic philosophy that places the pursuit of public welfare at the center of the purpose of Islamic law.
We spoke with Dwi Irianty Hadiningdyah (Director at the Ministry of Finance) and Yopi Nursali (Policy Analyst at the National Islamic Finance Committee, KNEKS) to learn more about how the Indonesian government tries to promote an Islamic understanding of sustainability and incorporate climate objectives through Shari’a-compliant green bonds.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full Indonesian Ministry of Finance case study.
The Oblate International Pastoral (OIP) Investment Trust / Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
OIP Trust was initially founded, in 1990, to manage the financial assets, initially of the Religious Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and its related provinces, delegations, missions, and ministries as well as of closely associate religious orders and dioceses. In 1999 the OIP was separately incorporated as a tax-exempt charitable trust domiciled in the United States. In 2014 the OIP expanded its services to any Roman Catholic related organization that would be tax-exempt if located in the United States.
Currently, the 76% of its Assets under Management (AUM) are directly or indirectly controlled by the OMI and 26% are managed on behalf of various Catholic congregations, dioceses, and ministries across the globe. Currently all the assets under management (except for a de minimis amount of legacy early 2000 private market investments) comply with the faith-consistent investment guidelines. Additionally, 18% of the private market investment are focused on attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Should you want to learn more about this impact story, please fill out the form below to receive the full OIP Trust case study.
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