Faith in the Common Good: Major international forum to seek a coordinated approach to FCI

FaithInvest is holding a major international forum in Paris in April for faith groups to discuss a potential collaborative multi-faith framework to accelerate faith-consistent investing (FCI).

Organised in partnership with the Collège des Bernardins (whose President, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, is also the President of Vatican Bank), the forum, entitled Faith in the Common Good, brings together representatives of 30 influential institutional faith asset owners and faith networks from diverse traditions around the world. These include both religious leaders and their top-level faith investment professionals.

Collectively, faith groups represent trillions of dollars of assets under management. The aim of the two-day forum is to discuss how, by developing a coordinated approach to values-driven investing, faiths can use their investment power for the common good.

Right use of money

FaithInvest Founding President Martin Palmer said religious groups have an estimated $5 trillion dollars in investable assets, and are increasingly taking action on the climate and ecological crises.

But as the 2024 Mensuram Bonam faith-consistent investing conference in London found, many faith groups encounter significant obstacles when it comes to identifying suitable investment opportunities aligned to their faith values. Faith in the Common Good will discuss how, by working together on issues of shared concern, faiths might find ways around these obstacles. It is also designed to engage with fund managers to develop pipelines of investable projects in line with faith values.

Martin Palmer said: 'Faiths think of future generations and have been engaged with environmental issues at many levels for the past few decades. As a result, they are increasingly thinking about the right use of money.

'In recent years, Pope Francis, with his 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, literally unlocked the Catholic Church as one of the driving forces for planetary awareness and protection, but other faiths have also been powerful advocates for action to protect people and planet.

'For example, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomeus, was the first Orthodox leader to make clear that protection of nature was fundamental to Orthodox teachings in the 1980s.

'Daoists are the most environmentally active faith in China. And 2024 saw the publication of Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth, which represents the collective voice of the Islamic community on environmental issues and calls on Muslims to "work together to protect our common home".'

But what was now critical, he added, was for faiths to ensure that their considerable investments reflects their beliefs and values: 'Considering the size of their assets and their influence, values-driven investments by faith groups could the vital factor which helps communities and nations to build a better world – and this is after all, the overriding vision of the world’s major faiths.'

About Faith in the Common Good

The two-day Faith in the Common Good Forum will be held on 16-17 April 2026 at the Collège des Bernardins, a beautiful 13th-century Gothic building which originally housed Cistercian monks studying at the University of Paris. It is now a vibrant centre in the heart of Paris for culture, training, and dialogue.

The Forum is held under the patronage of Cardinal Turkson, Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Science and Social Sciences, and Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris.

It will provide opportunities for participants to:

• Share their faith tradition's experience and expertise in FCI initiatives

• Explore the potential for a collaborative framework to enable faiths to come together to achieve greater impact for the common good

• Prepare collective action by beginning the development of a coordinated approach to faith-consistent investing that draws upon the beliefs and values of each tradition to address global economic challenges. 

A pivotal moment

FaithInvest Executive Chair Dave Zellner said this initiative comes at a pivotal moment: 'Faith groups share fundamental values that transcend denominational boundaries: caring for the poor, pursuing justice, practicing responsible stewardship.

'And unlike many institutional investors facing external pressures, we maintain the independence to act on those values,' he said.

'By working together, we can show the world that sound fiduciary management and values-driven investing go hand in hand. The Forum is our opportunity to turn shared conviction into coordinated action.'

Dave Zellner said evidence demonstrates that FCI can effectively address global challenges while maintaining strong financial performance (see FaithInvest’s recent whitepaper, Challenging the Performance Penalty Myth).

He added: 'Collectively, we can change the world for the better through financial markets!'