Financial investors and leaders of more than 30 different faith traditions representing over 500 faith investment groups from eight religions and around three trillion dollars in assets, met in Zug, Switzerland, from October 30 to November 1, 2017, for the Faith in Finance meeting.
Also attending this unique international meeting were representatives of the UN and some key ethical “impact” investment funds.
Watch this beautiful short film to see the event in pictures and interviews.
The world’s faiths control a significant proportion of the world’s assets. They have in recent years become involved in investing according to environmental, sustainable and governance (ESG) principles. To date they have generally applied negative criteria or screening to avoid inappropriate investments from their portfolios. From this year some of the leading faith fund managers will start to work with clearly articulated and formally endorsed ESG criteria for positive investment. This is backed by a commitment to change the world by aligning their assets with their deepest values and principles. Against a background of political and economic uncertainty in many places around the world, 2017 will see a significant global breakthrough in the emergence of Faith-Consistent Investment (FCI).
The Zug Guidelines
The Zug Guidelines to Faith-Consistent Investing were launched at the Faith in Finance meeting. They outline the priorities for future investment by 30 traditions from eight of the world's major faiths – Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism and Shintoism – focusing on how faiths can use their investments to support environmental and sustainable development for a better world.
October 3, 2017: Major Catholic church funds to make record divestment from fossil fuels
As more than 40 significant Catholic institutions pledge to make largest ever faith-based divestment, on the anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi, ARC prepares for a landmark meeting in Zug, where representatives from significant religious funds will discuss where they CAN put their investment wealth to make a better planet.
December 12, 2016: What has faith to do with finance? Inspiring book launched in China with global impact
What on Earth have religions to do with international finance? Quite a lot in fact, and this week ARC, with UNDP and OECD, launched a groundbreaking exploration on how faith money can help make a good, sustainable future happen. "Important." "Inspiring" and "This could change the future" have been the first comments. Because you've visited ARC's home page, you can read it here first.
