The Vatican Bank is expanding its presence in faith-based investing. The Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, has partnered with broker Morningstar to launch two equity indices designed for Catholic investors. These benchmarks, focusing on US and Eurozone equities, each comprise 50 large- and mid-cap stocks selected in accordance with Catholic ethical criteria and market best practices. The US benchmark includes companies like Meta, Amazon, and Tesla, while the Eurozone index features Deutsche Telekom, ASML Holding, and Hermès. The Institute for the Works of Religion is a financial institution headquartered in Vatican City and was founded by papal decree.
Furthering this trend, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney has announced plans to launch its own range of managed investment funds later this year. A spokesperson for the Archdiocese stated that they are collaborating with financial advisers to develop bespoke investment portfolios aligned with Catholic social teaching. The Archdiocese of Sydney says it is continually searching for ways to align its investments to ensure consistency with Catholic faith and mission.
Faith-based investing is not new, with existing options such as the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index and funds from providers like BetaShares. However, the Vatican Bank’s involvement marks a significant and public move into financial markets for the institution. Elsewhere, derivative markets are emerging on the Second Coming of Christ, with prediction market Polymarket hosting bets on Jesus’s return. This particular market, however, is blocked in Australia due to regulatory concerns regarding online gambling services.
