With the incorporation this year of a new Invesco product, there are already several funds that have been created by management companies that are governed by principles and values defended by the Catholic Church. Where companies that violate the Catholic conception of the family and marriage are excluded from their investment portfolio.
Despite the partial reimbursements in recent months, investment funds closed last year with net subscriptions amounting to 8.410 million euros, according to the latest data provided by the Association of Collective Investment Institutions and Pension Funds ( INVERCO). One product, investment funds, where models based on religious values, and more specifically Catholic, are still clearly a minority in the current offer.
Catholic investment funds are not more profitable than the rest. Nor is it less due to the mere nature of them. Their main contribution is that they allow users to invest their money according to a way of thinking and acting in life. Based on their religious beliefs and they recognize the fact of being consistent with the most personal convictions. This is one of the main reasons, not the only one, why some investment managers have decided to launch investment products for Catholics.
ETF respecting the criteria
Currently, the offering is very limited, but at least it allows savers who wish to be fully consistent with their religious beliefs to subscribe. Invesco, one of the most powerful asset managers in the market, is the latest to make a move and offer its clients a product of this kind. Managing assets exceeding $700.000 billion, it has decided to include in its investment offerings this year an ETF that provides exposure to the MSCI Europe index while respecting the criteria and values of the Catholic Church.
This financial product, ETF, combines mutual funds with the purchase and sale of shares in the equity markets. But it has more competitive commissions that exist in these investment models. Around 0,30% per year on the capital invested and whose contracting is carried out in euros, as they are companies that are listed on the stock exchanges of the old continent.
The Invesco MSCI Europe ESG Leaders Catholic Principles fund , as this product is called, invests in companies aligned with the principles upheld by the Catholic faith. This includes the exclusion of any company involved in activities related to abortion and contraception, stem cell research, animal testing, and human rights abuses.
Investment as an instrument
The approach of another asset manager that has opted for this form of investment, Faithful Investing, also leaves no doubt about its true intentions. “We not only seek the highest return for our clients, but also to be an instrument of evangelization,” they emphasize. As a consequence of this moral assessment, their investment portfolio respects the criteria and principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church, which is present in the Altum Faith-consistent Equity Fund.
It is an investment fund of clear Catholic inspiration that promotes values such as the defense of the family, life, human dignity and the protection of creation. The minimum subscription for this investment is from 1.000 euros for retail savers. In the short time we have been in this year, it has appreciated around 5%. It stands out because it does not have in its portfolio companies whose activities violate the Catholic conception of marriage and the family. Excluding manufacturers of condoms, such as Durex, or birth control pills.
Ethical ideology
Another investment option of this nature is the Temperantia fund , created by Julius Bauer, one of the most prestigious international asset managers. In addition to financial criteria, other exclusionary measures are applied, preventing investment in companies that threaten human life and dignity. In any case, a series of filters are used to select companies for its investment portfolio that align with the ethical principles of the Catholic Church.
Its accumulated profitability during this year is one of the highest, 5,64%. While last year, which was very negative for all investment funds based on equities, it only depreciated by 6,73% compared to 9,02% of those in its category. It invests more than 75% in international equities, while the rest is allocated to public and private fixed income, which includes fixed-term bank deposits, among other financial assets. It presents a fixed commission of 1,15% on the invested capital, in line with that of the other international investment funds.
Social helps
In the family support policy in Spain, more advantageous tax treatment for large families is given to the detriment of aid for the birth of children. This strategy is most widely used in the countries of northern and central Europe, with charges between 100 and 150 euros per month for each child.
Spain is one of the countries with one of the lowest birth rates within the European Union. With a total of 8,4 births per 1.000 inhabitants, according to the latest data provided by the European statistical office, Eurostat. Where it is shown that it is the third lowest birth rate, just ahead of Greece (8,2) and Italy (7,6).
But, how does this scenario translate to the official aid that couples receive when they bring their children into the world? There is no homogeneous position in the select European club. Not even to implement it as mandatory and in this way help families to benefit from their new status as parents.
Scandinavians: the most expansive
In Europe, it is precisely the countries of the center and north of the continent that are the most generous to develop policies that enhance the birth rate among their population. One of these examples is represented by Sweden, which currently contemplates aid of 115 euros per month for each child, and which is extended year after year until the offspring are 16 years old. In this case, accompanied by a small monthly supplement for large families.
Along the same lines is another Scandinavian country, Denmark, which within its general budgets establishes the issuance of a subsidy for families of around 150 euros for each offspring and valid for up to 18 years. Finland also grants parents 100 euros per month, with a maturity that reaches 17 years and which gradually increases as the number of children increases. While in Norway, each baby is received with a pay under the arm in amounts very similar to the previous ones, up to 18 years old.
Estonia is a special case, offering a monthly allowance of €50 until the child reaches the age of majority. Children also receive €320 at birth, an amount that rises to €1.000 for large families. According to the Institute for Family Policy (IPF), based on data from MISSOC ( Mutual Information System on Social Protection ), these patterns in public subsidies are common in Central European countries.
In Germany and Austria, parents are able to get € 216 and € 131 for the first child, respectively. While the countries of the former communist bloc have it established in a range that ranges between 20 and 30 euros, with the exception of Viktor Orban's Hungary, which raises this family subsidy to 41 euros.
These aids are complemented with other aid supports such as those represented with the reduction or exemption in the expenses of the nursery or in a payment that the babies receive and that will last until they reach their majority. Amount that increases progressively as the child grows.
Tax deductions in Spain
Spanish parents, on the other hand, cannot access any official aid for a child born. Although on the contrary, they have completely free primary and secondary education. Without this action being transferred to higher studies at the university or in kindergartens. The aid at the time of becoming parents is at the national level, although it is convenient to focus on the monetary support offered by some autonomous communities or local administrations (town halls, county councils ...).
In any case, the most striking measure corresponds to the aid for birth that has an amount of 1.000 euros in a single payment and that is restricted only to families that do not exceed limits in their family income. With margins that move between 11.606 and 15.087 euros for non-large families, depending on the dependent children. While on the contrary, in the numerous ones it rises between 17.467 and 37.272 euros. In both scenarios, they should not be receiving any benefit of the same nature from which it is intended to demand.
On the other hand, large families can benefit from a deduction available to this important social group through the income statement and which is established as follows:
- Deduction of 1.200 euros for general large family (three or four children).
- Deduction of 2.400 euros for those in the special category (five or more children).
- Deduction of 1.200 euros for families with children with disabilities.