Author: Sophia Caira

In this webinar, the panel discussed developments since the release of Mensuram Bonam a year ago. This webinar featured CIS Board Chair and Founder Scott Malpass, Bernard Brenninkmeijer, Chairman of Porticus North America and a leading Catholic investor and philanthropist, Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI, Director of the Oblates’ US Province Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation, and Katie McCloskey, Vice President of Social Responsibility, Mercy Investment Services. The panel also discussed outcomes from the recent Mensuram Bonam Faith Consistent Investment Conference sponsored by the Vatican, where all panelists above participated as speakers.

00:00 – Tom Lanctot, CIS CEO, Welcome and opening prayer

03:50 – Scott Malpass, CIS Founding Chair, Introduction and starting the conversation

06:00 – History of Mensuram Bonam

09:53 – Discernment, how the committee approached MB

15:00 – How is Mensuram Bonam received?

17:20 – USCCB Guidelines vs. Mensuram Bonam

21:38 – Impact investing for Catholic institutions

26:15 – Engagement as a Catholic investor

28:30 – What is the difference between Catholic investing and ESG?

34:13 – Q: How should the investment committee of a Catholic institution formulate faith-based standards as part of their investment policy statement and objectives? How do they develop metrics and benchmarks around those standards?

37:00 – Q: What can small religious communities do to work with Mensuram Bonam if they don’t have institutional-sized endowment funding but invest in accordance with the USCCB guidelines?

38:51 – Follow-up and resources on Mensuram Bonam

43:03 – Q: How does Mensuram Bonam and the various bishops conferences address private capital?

50:00 – Opportunities and the road ahead

52:18 – Q: What was the level of engagement with non-religious organizations in the development of Mensuram Bonam?

54:08 – Q: Is Catholic investing concessionary?

57:50 – Thank you and closing

Economic strain across many factors has continued to create challenges for Catholic institutions who seek to grow their endowments so that they may sustain their vital ministries. This webinar was a wide-ranging discussion that focused on the macro and micro environment and outlook for the new year. This webinar featured Jack Brennan, CIS Founding Chair & Chairman Emeritus, The Vanguard Group, and Joseph Davis, Vanguard’s global chief economist and global head of the Investment Strategy Group, as they assessed the current state of the capital markets, highlight investment challenges and risks, and share best practice ideas on institutional investment themes. Joe also touched on his new book titled “Megatrends”, which demonstrates how AI, debt, demographics and deglobalization may impact the economy and markets in the coming decade. The info session concluded with questions from the audience.

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Economic strain across many factors has continued to create challenges for Catholic institutions who seek to grow their endowments so that they may sustain their vital ministries. This webinar was a wide-ranging discussion that focused on the macro and micro environment and outlook for the new year. This webinar featured Jack Brennan, CIS Founding Chair & Chairman Emeritus, The Vanguard Group, and Joseph Davis, Vanguard’s global chief economist and global head of the Investment Strategy Group, as they assessed the current state of the capital markets, highlight investment challenges and risks, and share best practice ideas on institutional investment themes. Joe also touched on his new book titled “Megatrends”, which demonstrates how AI, debt, demographics and deglobalization may impact the economy and markets in the coming decade. The info session concluded with questions from the audience.

00:00 – Tom Lanctot, CIS CEO, Welcome and opening prayer

03:02 – Jack Brennan, CIS Founding Chair, Introductions and starting the conversation

08:18 – How the forecasts were wrong about the economy and what the implications are

11:28 – The appeal of cash as an asset class

15:43 – Are recessions healthy?

17:38 – The rising rate environment

19:47 – The past and future of the 60/40 portfolio

23:46 – Inflation in the next 5 years

26:53 – Global portfolios: will we see globalization or deglobalization?

30:21 – Risk management and geopolitics

32:45 – The advent of alternative investments

36:13 – Megatrends and our financial future

46:50 – Q: Will there be positive or negative correlations between stocks and bonds in the future?

48:40 – Q: From an endowment point of view with an infinite time horizon, why not be in stocks entirely and avoid bonds in a portfolio?

51:35 – Q: Increases in prices seem to be holding despite decreasing inflation and wages; what is the long-term implication as prices seem to outpace wage increases?

54:22 – Thank you and closing

In this podcast, we highlight ten common pitfalls of building a Catholic foundation and how to address them. This is a continuation of our previous podcast, on Strengthening and Structuring Catholic Foundations and Trusts. In this session, you will hear from Catholic fiduciaries and industry experts sharing practical advice on the ten most common mistakes to avoid when building a Catholic foundation, and offering best practice solutions. Catholic Investment Services’ Zela Astarjian, Managing Director, is joined by Paulita Pike, CIS Trustee and Partner at Ropes and Gray, Elizabeth Tomlin, Archdiocese for the Military Services, John Schlageter, JKT Group, and Cory Howat, Catholic Community Foundation for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

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In this podcast, Zela Astarjian, Managing Director at CIS, joins Sister Barbara Thomas of the United States Province of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Katie Thiemann of Cor Jesu Academy, and Sister Irene O’Neill of Sisters Rising Worldwide to discuss incorporating a culture of philanthropy in your religious community.

More and more, Catholic institutions are making advancement a priority. The reason: Without a strong advancement program, some organizations may struggle or fail in the decades ahead due to shifting demographics and donation practices among Catholics nationally. This will be an educational workshop and will cover essentials such as enhancing financial management practices, creating an advancement function, making fundraising more strategic and building a strong endowment. The discussion will examine how religious orders can secure their futures by implementing best practices for board and committee governance.

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In this webinar, we highlight ten common pitfalls of building a Catholic foundation, and how to address them. This is a continuation of our previous webinar, on Strengthening and Structuring Catholic Foundations and Trusts. In this webinar, you will hear from Catholic fiduciaries and industry experts sharing practical advice on the ten most common mistakes to avoid when building a Catholic foundation, and offering best practice solutions.

00:00 – Webinar opens, Zela Astarjian, CIS Managing Director, Welcome and Introductions

08:49 – Opening Prayer, Elizabeth Tomlin, Archdiocese for the Military Services

09:17 – Paulita Pike, CIS Trustee, Beginning the conversations on pitfalls for Catholic foundations to avoid

10:33 – Pitfall #1: Not defining your mission

17:50 – Pitfall #2: Not having timely, adequate staffing

24:17 – Q: Can Catholic foundations sign agreements with a diocese so that financial management staff can safely manage while stewarding funds appropriately?

25:57 – Pitfall #3: Not setting reasonable expectations nor timelines

31:10 – Pitfall #4: Not prioritizing hires appropriately

38:50 – Pitfall #5: Lack of proper governance

40:49 – Pitfall #6: Not contemplating canonical implications

42:43 – Q: Is there a recommended amount of assets before it makes sense to start a separate foundation?

45:00 – Pitfall #7: Commingling assets with confusion of assets between a foundation and archdiocese

48:14 – Pitfall #8: Not paying attention to details

41:00 – Pitfall #9: Not understanding your investments

54:30 – Pitfall #10: Not investing wisely

59:50 – Thank you and closing

In this podcast, you will hear about AI and the future ahead. AI has recently taken the world by storm. Its groundbreaking capabilities are being used for customer service, generating more reliable credit scores, enabling trading and money management, regulatory compliance, security and fraud prevention, and more. This dynamic discussion features Jack Brennan (CIS Founding Chair & Chairman Emeritus, The Vanguard Group), John Behrens (Director, Office of Digital Strategy, College of Arts & Letters at University of Notre Dame), Brian Barbetta (Wellington Management Global Industry Analyst), and Shelley Zhuang (Founder and Managing Partner at 11.2 Capital).

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In this session, Scott Malpass, Founder & Board Chair, Catholic Investment Services, leads a panel discussion on the role of global equities in institutional portfolio construction. Equity practitioners discuss their investment philosophy, research process and idea generation for stock selection.

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