We hear from many of the faith-based investors we work with that they are increasingly taking steps to act as active stewards of financial resources, ensuring that their investments align with their values and contribute to the common good. For many, the starting point is excluding investments that don’t align with their values, but faith-consistent investing isn’t just about what we exclude—it’s also about how we engage.
This is why shareholder engagement is the topic of FaithInvest’s first 2025 Quarterly FCI Interest Group Forum – during the Forum, we will explore how faith-based investors can become more active shareholders.
Want to learn how faith-based investors can turn their values into real corporate impact? On March 6th, we’re bringing together two leading voices in responsible investing: Tim Smith, Senior Policy Advisor at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)—a pioneer in faith-based shareholder advocacy for over five decades—and Emily DeMasi, Lead for North America and Director of Engagement at EOS, Federated Hermes Limited, one of the world’s largest specialist stewardship teams.
Date: 6 March 2025 Online Forum – 10.00 ET | 15.00 BST
Click here to register: Registration Link
By leveraging their ownership stakes, faith-based investors can drive change on critical environmental, social, and governance issues, ensuring that corporations uphold ethical business practices, sustainability, and social justice.
However, many faith organisations are not actively engaging with companies; investment policy research conducted by FaithInvest, described in our Good Intentions report, found that just 60% of faith-based investors who indicate a faith element in their overall investment policies actually engage in shareholder advocacy, and just 42% have faith-aligned proxy voting policies in place.
One of the primary barriers is the perceived complexity of the engagement process, which has been recognised and written about for many years, as in this foundational report from the International Interfaith Investment Group. Many religious organisations lack the necessary expertise and experience in corporate governance, making the prospect of interacting with large corporations seem daunting.
Without a clear understanding of how shareholder engagement works, faith-based investors may hesitate to take action, missing opportunities to influence corporate behaviour in alignment with their values, as the CFA Institute described in reviewing the report cited above.
Another significant challenge is the belief that smaller investors lack influence. Many faith-based organisations hold relatively modest investments, leading to doubts about their ability to effect meaningful change. This perception often discourages them from filing shareholder resolutions or participating in proxy voting, despite evidence that collective action can amplify their impact, as we’ve written about in our paper Faith-consistent Investing and Smaller Organisations, reported on by ImpactAlpha.
Resource constraints further compound the issue, as shareholder advocacy requires time, financial commitment, and specialised knowledge that many religious groups may not have readily available.
Additionally, a lack of awareness and education about the tools and strategies available for faith-aligned investing prevents many organisations from fully leveraging their potential as ethical investors. Without proper guidance, faith groups may not realise the power they hold through their investments. Overcoming these barriers requires greater collaboration, targeted education, and the development of accessible engagement strategies that empower religious organisations to take an active role in shaping corporate responsibility.
FaithInvest's upcoming FCI Interest Group Quarterly Forum on Shareholder Engagement on Thursday March 6 will explore these contexts, equipping faith-driven investors with the information and tools to help them overcome these challenges and engage effectively with companies. The panel will discuss the essentials of active ownership, including:
The basics of shareholder engagement: What it is, how it compares to divestment, and why it matters to faith-based investors.
Investor tools for driving change: Proxy voting, direct dialogue with companies, and shareholder resolutions – how they work and why they are effective.
Faith-based engagement success stories: How faith-driven investors have influenced corporate behaviour on climate action, human rights, and ethical governance.
Overcoming challenges in engagement: Strategies for tackling corporate resistance, avoiding greenwashing, and ensuring meaningful impact.
Next steps for faith-based investors: Whether you’re new to shareholder engagement or already active, learn how to take your advocacy efforts to the next level.
This Interest Group will be especially valuable for faith-based asset owners and investment committees seeking to strengthen their shareholder engagement strategies, faith-aligned fund managers and advisors aiming to better serve faith-driven clients, and institutional investors and pension funds managing faith-based and ESG-aligned portfolios. Additionally, anyone with a passion for ethical investing—whether as an individual investor or part of a larger institution—will gain valuable insights from this session.
Date: 6 March 2025Online Forum – 10.00 ET | 15.00 BST
Click here to register: Registration Link
Reminder: If you don't articulate how your faith values shape your investment decisions, how can you be sure that you are investing in line with your beliefs and values? Your organisation spends time, treasure and talent in faith-consistent ways, why not its investments? We can help – FaithInvest will provides free and confidential FCI assessments to gauge the extent to which your faith values are reflected in your organisation's Investment Policy and Guidelines.
Find out more in our recent FCI Research post or talk to us about conducting an FCI analysis of your IP&G by contacting us at info@faithinvest.org.