Socially Responsible Investing

Socially responsible investing is incorporating an organization's mission into the organization's investment decision-making process.

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Statement of Philosophy:

The mission of CHA is to advance the Catholic health ministry of the United States in caring for people and communities, with special attention to our neighbors who are poor, underserved and most vulnerable.

Rooted in Gospel values, CHA seeks to work to bring alive the Gospel vision of justice and peace. CHA is a passionate voice for Jesus' mission of love and healing, a valuable resource for information services and programs, and a vibrant community of members joined in a shared mission.

CHA has the responsibility to exemplify this mission in all aspects of its work, including its investment activities.

In accordance with that responsibility, the Board of Trustees charges and entrusts the Finance Committee and Staff with developing strategies for deployment of the association's short-term and long-term investments that:

  1. Exercise competent and socially-responsible stewardship of investment resources;
  2. Maximize return for a reasonable trade-off of risk;
  3. Support and leverage its members' work in furthering social responsibility and sustainability;
  4. Leverage the socially-responsible and sustainability activities of investment professionals, other investment service providers, and coalitions of like-minded investors;
  5. Communicate and highlight, where appropriate, the impact of CHA and its members' socially-responsible and sustainable investment activities; and
  6. Utilize CHA's unique advocacy voice, where appropriate, to support dialogue with portfolio companies and influence regulatory change to enhance engagement in the business and financial community regarding social issues.

SRI Strategies – The following strategies may be implemented by CHA Staff, and/or in collaboration with other organizations, and/or via the investment managers and vehicles used to implement CHA's portfolio strategy:

  1. Avoidance Screening –Securities issued by companies that violate CHA's social screens are eliminated from CHA's portfolio (see D under this Section for a listing of screens).
  2. Positive Screening –Securities issued by companies that engage in activities consistent with CHA's mission and church teaching may be overweighted in CHA's portfolio.
  3. Proxy Voting –Proxies are voted according to CHA's Proxy Voting Policy for all securities held by CHA. See E under this Section for CHA's Proxy Voting Policy.
  4. Community Investment – Direct investments into poor communities via community development banks and microfinance institutions. These investments are long-term with stable but below-market return expectations.
  5. Impact Investment – Investments, often in private markets, with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return, which can range from below market to market rate.
  6. Implementing CHA's Voice

CHA may leverage its unique role as a membership organization, as an institutional investor, as part of a broader ministry, and as an advocacy organization to influence and raise awareness regarding key Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. Specifically, CHA may:

  • Utilize its communication vehicles to share and engage with the Catholic Health Ministry on ESG philosophies and strategies;
  • Collaborate with members and other mission-based investor organizations to engage corporate managers via dialogue and shareholder advocacy; and/or
  • Utilize our advocacy voice to inform policy makers of the importance of ESG disclosure, compliance, and to influence regulatory change on social issues of importance to CHA.

Social Screens

  1. Respect for Human Life – CHA will not knowingly invest in companies that do any of the following:
    1. Manufacture abortifacient drugs or operate healthcare or physician management organizations that provide abortions;
    2. Promote or encourage physician-assisted suicide, either through products, services, or dissemination of information;
    3. Manufacture contraceptives or derive more than 2% of gross sales from the sale of contraceptive drugs or devices; or
    4. Engage in embryonic stem cell research, cloning of human beings, and research using tissues from aborted fetuses.
  2. Tobacco – CHA will not knowingly invest in companies that do either of the following:
      1. Manufacture tobacco products; or
      2. Derive more than 10% of gross sales from the sale of tobacco or tobacco-related products.
  3. Violence – CHA will not knowingly invest in companies that:
    1. Manufacture or distribute weapons of mass destruction (including, but not limited to chemical, nuclear, biological, cluster bombs) or land mines;
    2. Derive more than 10% of revenue from the production or sale of conventional military weapons; or
    3. Manufacture or derive more than 2% of revenue from the or sale of firearms.
  4. Pornography – CHA will not knowingly invest in companies that:
    1. Produce pornography or adult entertainment materials; or
    2. Derive more than 2% of revenue from the sale or distribution of pornography or adult entertainment materials.
  5. Gambling – CHA will not knowingly invest in companies that derive more than 20% of gross sales from gambling activities.
  6. Human Rights – CHA will not knowingly invest in companies with contracts, ties, or investments in countries for which global sanctions have been imposed related to human rights violations,
    discrimination, genocide or terror.
  7. Environment – CHA will not knowingly invest in the top 30 companies generating the greatest irreversible adverse impact on the environment via climate change, toxic and nuclear waste, and damage to biodiversity.