Catholic Responsible Investments: Aligning Faith and Finance
March 12, 2025 | Rome, Italy
Save the date for the 2026 Global Conference: February 4, 2026
Featured Speakers
- Sr. Helen Alford, O.P., President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
- Angelika Delen, Mercer, Head of Impact Solutions Europe, IMETA and Asia
- Br. Armin Luistro, FSC, Superior General of the De La Salle Christian Brothers
- Garvan McCarthy, Mercer, Chief Investment Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Asia
CBIS Speakers
- Jeffrey McCroy, President & CEO
- Andrea Favaloro, President of CBIS Global
- Thomas Digenan, Co-Chief Investment Officer
- John Geissinger, Co-Chief Investment Officer
Opening Remarks
In his opening remarks, Brother Armin Luistro, FSC emphasizes the urgent need to align financial decisions with the principles of faith and integrity. He acknowledges the troubling signs in the world but encourages action rooted in the Gospel’s message of hope and love. The Holy Year, as declared by Pope Francis, is highlighted as a unique opportunity to rekindle hope and work in solidarity with those suffering from injustice and marginalization.
Investing with Intention: How CBIS Applies Mensuram Bonam to Portfolios
In this session, the CBIS team explores how the Vatican’s 2022 document Mensuram Bonam shapes investment decisions aligned with Catholic social teaching. President & Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey McCroy and Co-Chief Investment Officer John Geissinger explain the principles of engagement, enhancement, and exclusion in ethical investing.
Navigating Market Uncertainty: Perspectives and Opportunities from Global Investment Leaders
CBIS Co-Chief Investment Officer Thomas Digenan, CBIS Co-Chief Investment Officer John Geissinger, and Garvan McCarthy, Chief Investment Officer at Mercer for Europe, Middle East, and Asia, explore historical and current financial market dynamics, offering insight into navigating volatility. The panel emphasizes that uncertainty, while challenging, also creates opportunity.
Charting the Future: CBIS’ Commitment to Global Catholic Investing
In this video, we outline CBIS’ evolving strategy, particularly to international investors, which focuses on expanded offerings and a more sophisticated global investment platform. President & Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey McCroy highlights the organization’s focus on Catholic Responsible Investments.
Faith, Finance, and the Future: The Transformative Power of Impact Investing
Angelika Delen, Global Head of Impact Investing at Mercer, explores how small financial decisions can drive large-scale social and environmental change through impact investing. She highlights global challenges—such as climate change, food waste, and healthcare inequality—and presents real-world examples of private market investments that address these issues while delivering returns.
Closing Remarks
In this video, President – CBIS Global, Andrea Favaloro reflects on the time spent in collaboration and the information that was shared at the Global Conference. He shares with investors that CBIS will be in touch to answer any questions. CBIS is here to offer insight into how to implement Mensuram Bonam and upcoming new opportunities for investors.
All material of opinion reflects the judgement of the Adviser at this time and is subject to change. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation to buy, hold, or sell any financial instrument or investment advisory services.
In times of market volatility, it can feel like every headline reflects uncertainty in the market. But we must remember there is a difference between the signal and the surrounding noise…
To Our CBIS Investors and Partners,
We join the world in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis, who entered eternal rest following the celebration of the Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday. His final days were marked, as ever, by humility, prayer, and a quiet devotion to the Gospel.
Pope Francis will be remembered as a living example of Christ’s message—offering love, dignity, and accompaniment to all, especially those who have been marginalized or overlooked. His pontificate reflected a deep commitment to empathy, pastoral care, and the renewal of the Church in service to humanity.
Among his many contributions, Pope Francis offered strong support for Mensuram Bonam, encouraging Catholic institutions to align their financial practices with their faith. His call for greater integrity in economic life continues to resonate across the global Church.
At CBIS, we have long been guided by this vision—serving Catholic investors who seek to transform the world through faith-consistent investing rooted in Catholic social teaching. We pray that the momentum Pope Francis inspired through this work will continue to grow in the years ahead.
In keeping with his character, Pope Francis requested that his funeral rites be simple, focused not on the trappings of papal office but on his identity as a disciple and servant of Christ. His humility and example leave a lasting imprint on the Church—and on all who seek to live the Gospel with integrity.
We offer our prayers for the College of Cardinals as they gather in solemn discernment to choose the next Pope. May the Holy Spirit guide their hearts and minds with wisdom, unity, and grace as they carry out this sacred responsibility for the good of the Church and the world.
May he rest in the peace of Christ.
Jeffrey A. McCroy
President & Chief Executive Officer
Empowering Investments for Positive Change: Insights from the 2024 Global Conference in Rome
On February 20, 2024, CBIS hosted the annual CBIS Global Conference in Rome. The event brought together investment and industry leaders, investors, and special guests worldwide. Themed “Empowering Investments for Positive Change,” the conference focused on market outlook and CBIS’ commitment to evangelize the message of Mensuram Bonam and Catholic Responsible Investing.
The event commenced with Mass celebrated by His Eminence Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson. Andrea Favaloro, President of CBIS Global, opened the conference, discussing the importance of Catholic Responsible Investing. , followed by a welcome by Br. Armin Luistro, FSC, Brother Superior of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
The session, “The Church and Mensuram Bonam” and was led by CBIS’ President & CEO, Jeffrey McCroy, with panelists and contributors of Mensuram Bonam, Reverend Father Séamus Finn, OMI, Chief of Faith Consistent Investing at Oblate International Pastoral Investment Trust, and John Dalla Costa, Founding Director at the Centre for Ethical Orientation. The conversation explored Mensuram Bonam’s fundamentals, its practical application, and the intersection of faith and finance.
Garvan McCarthy, Mercer’s Chief Investment Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and John Geissinger had a session wherein they shared their insights into the current market outlook and emerging opportunities.
A panel discussion on CBIS’ approach to investing in line with Mensuram Bonam was led by CBIS’ Chief Marketing Officer, Sarah McClain, and featured Jeffrey McCroy, John Geissinger, Chief Investment Officer, and Julie Tanner, Managing Director – Catholic Responsible Investments. The discussion focused on how Mensuram Bonam’s call to “engage, enhance, and exclude” reaffirms CBIS’ Catholic Responsible Investments approach.
The 2024 Global Conference in Rome was an opportunity to heed the Vatican’s call to action through Mensuram Bonam, discuss CBIS’ approach to investing in line with Mensuram Bonam, and provide an outlook of the financial markets. We are grateful for the opportunity to connect with our global investors and partners, reaffirming our dedication to empowering investments for positive change.
Conference Resources:
All material of opinion reflects the judgement of the Adviser at this time and is subject to change. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation to buy, hold, or sell any financial instrument or investment advisory services.
The situation in Israel has evolved into a dire humanitarian crisis. Let us join in prayer for the restoration of peace.
On the economic front, this conflict is poised to complicate the tasks faced by global central banks…
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CBIS PROUD TO ACCEPT INVITATION INTO CATHOLIC IMPACT INVESTING COLLABORATIVE
As a manager of Catholic assets for more than 40 years, CBIS is humbled by its invitation to join one of the industry’s premier organizations, the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative, or “CIIC”.
CBIS was invited for membership at a new level created for financial intermediaries that support Catholic asset owners’ impact investing activities.
WHAT IS THE CATHOLIC IMPACT INVESTING COLLABORATIVE?
CIIC (pronounced “seek”) is a collaborative for Catholic asset owners and financial intermediaries around the world to share connections and exchange ideas around impact investments.
The organization’s members include a pioneering Catholic institutions representing seven countries and over $40 billion in assets that have led the way in impact investing.
WHAT IS IMPACT INVESTING?
According to the Global Impact Investing Network, impact investments are made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. How CIIC participants think about and approach their investment portfolios relies, of course, on the distinct values and heritage of the Catholic community.
Like CIIC, we at CBIS believe impact investing has enormous potential to contribute to the solutions our society demands.
CBIS and the CIIC
According to Jeffrey McCroy, CBIS’ President and Chief Executive Officer, the two organization’s goals are very much in alignment.
“In the end, CIIC and CBIS are each working to educate the Catholic investment community. We are honored by this opportunity to share our decades of experience with a group so committed to making a positive impact. We look forward to all we will learn from each other in efforts to serve the Catholic church.”
For more information on the CIIC, visit www.catholicimpact.org.
“YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”
As we look back on a particularly challenging year, I’m reminded once again of scripture. You might recognize the line above from Matthew. In full context, the verse speaks to the miracle of light — the idea that it’s in us all, regardless of circumstances — and that something so precious should not be wasted.
As we head into 2023, we feel optimistic and grateful for our amazing team and incredible investors at CBIS.
During a time when it is easy to only focus on darkness, we choose to look for the light.
Helping to Answer a Higher Calling
CBIS has always placed the highest importance on Catholic teaching and service to the Catholic market.
Over the years, we’ve come to know that ensuring an alignment of interests between CBIS and its
investors demands a two-pronged approach: Independent oversight of the traditional governance
functions and an advisory body to emphasize the firm’s applications of Church teaching.
CBIS’ Charisms Council was formed as an advisory body to review and opine on important CBIS’
initiatives that touch on the firm’s application of Catholic teaching in its investment strategies…