Want to invest like a Catholic? The Vatican has a new stock index for that.

Chris Wilmerding profile photo

Chris Wilmerding

President
Thayer Partners, LLC
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038
David Beckwith profile photo

David Beckwith

Chief Investment Officer
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038
Joe Ciliberti profile photo

Joe Ciliberti

Lead Wealth Manager
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038
Deborah Deckman profile photo

Deborah Deckman

Partner, Wealth Manager
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038

Looking for divine intervention to boost your stock portfolio? Two new stock indexes from the Vatican may not promise such miracles — but they will help you invest in accordance with Catholic values, Vatican Bank said on Tuesday.

In partnership with Morningstar Indexes, the bank announced indexes for both the European and US markets: the Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles index and the Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles index.

A statement from the bank said the indexes are "built following market best practices and in accordance with Catholic ethical criteria, and are designed to serve as a reference for Catholic investments worldwide."

698cb9a5a645d118818923de

Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

In partnership with Morningstar Indexes, the bank announced indexes for both the European and US markets: the Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles index and the Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles index.

A statement from the bank said the indexes are "built following market best practices and in accordance with Catholic ethical criteria, and are designed to serve as a reference for Catholic investments worldwide."

The bank did not share its criteria for selecting stocks that align with Catholic Social Teaching, but all of the stocks in the indexes are pulled from the Morningstar US Large-Mid Index and the Morningstar Eurozone Large-Mid Index.

When backtested over the last decade, both portfolios, which contain 50 stocks each, have posted impressive gains. The US index has returned 18% per year on average over the last 10 years, while the European index has returned an average of 10.2%.

The largest 10 holdings for the US index include: Meta (5.31%), Amazon (5.22%), Nvidia (5.09%), Tesla (4.84%), Apple (4.62%), JPMorgan (4.27%), Broadcom (4.09%), Visa (3.35%), Micron (3.01%), and Alphabet (2.86%).

Top holdings for the European index include: ASML (6.16%), Deutsche Telekom (5.07%), SAP (3.96%), Banco Santander (3.88%), Hermes (3.82%), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (3.8%), Prosus (3.76%), Vinci (3.46%), UniCredit (3.45%), and Allianz (3.43%).

The Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles index joins other faith-based investing strategies launched in recent years, like the Global X S&P 500 Christian Values ETF (CHRI) and the Inspire 100 ETF (BIBL).

This Business Insider article was legally licensed by AdvisorStream

Chris Wilmerding profile photo

Chris Wilmerding

President
Thayer Partners, LLC
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038
David Beckwith profile photo

David Beckwith

Chief Investment Officer
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038
Joe Ciliberti profile photo

Joe Ciliberti

Lead Wealth Manager
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038
Deborah Deckman profile photo

Deborah Deckman

Partner, Wealth Manager
8309 Stenton Ave Wyndmoor, PA 19038