Socially Responsible Impact Investing
Why invest with the Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation?
The main reason is that all of the Foundation’s investments align with the qualities of Impact Investing norms and trends. Or, in other words, sustainable and socially responsible investing.
Our investment manager, Wespath Institutional Investments, is a subsidiary of the former General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church, now known as Wespath Benefits and Investments, managing $26 Billion in investments in 2022.
Through the advocacy work of our investment managers, the Foundation’s sustainable investment strategies align with the principles of John Wesley’s social holiness movement.
Advocacy
To identify areas of improvements that corporations could make in Environmental, Social, or Governance matters; as shareholders (owners) of corporations, we have a responsibility to use this leverage so that our voices can be heard to make the world a better place.
Social Screening
No investments in companies whose revenues exceed 10% from any of these industries: gambling, tobacco, alcohol, weapons, pornography, and for-profit prisons.
Proxy Voting
Seeking board diversity and shareholder engagement that challenge companies to be better.
Service, Role, and Relationship to the Churches Who Invest
Everything we do is to benefit churches, not ourselves.
Fees from investments go to support the missional work of the Foundation, in contrast to a more traditional investment manager whose fees provide shareholder dividends, agent commissions, and executive bonuses.
The Foundation is a Fiduciary – meaning that it has the church’s best interests in mind. For example, some of our investments have higher fees than others. The Foundation will never make investment suggestions based on this fact, but rather consider the purpose of each account in helping a church choose which investments are most beneficial for the church.
The Role of The Foundation
- Serve as a fiduciary for your church’s investments
- Independence from your church members
- Eliminating conflict of interest for members who may be investment managers
- Helping protect members from awkward positions when the market retracts
- Serve as the Trustee for any special funds
- Provide planned giving services for congregation members
- Provide endowment stewardship coaching for church leaders
The Foundation is a respected, trusted financial and endowment service manager for churches and organizations in the Desert Southwest Region.
Email: agreen@dsumf.org
Call Anytime: 602-798-8202