This article features an interview between Phil Lenahan, founder and president of Financial Foundations for the Family, and John Clark, founder of Guardian Investments, on the subject of investing from a moral perspective.

PHIL: Hi, John. Why don't we start by having you give a brief personal background?

JOHN: I'm twenty-six years old, the father of two and we are expecting our third child. I graduated from Christendom College in 1992 with a degree in political science and economics and began working as a broker in 1994.

PHIL: Congratulations on your third child. We'll keep you and your wife in our prayers. What prompted you to launch out on your own and start Guardian Investments?

JOHN: The fundamental issue was that I didn't want to be investing in stocks that were anti-life, yet I couldn't control that as an employee of a regional brokerage firm. I knew there would be a market out there for Catholics who were looking to invest money in an ethical way and who were specifically pro life.

PHIL: Why don't you tell us a little bit about exactly what Guardian does?

JOHN: We're a full service firm. We buy stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, just like everybody else except that we will not touch any investment which is in any way related to the abortion industry. That includes manufacturers of abortifacients , mutual funds with any stock that is involved in the abortion industry, companies that give to Planned Parenthood, and insurance providers that pay for abortions. We try to show people that ethical investing from a pro life perspective can be done effectively and profitably. We have the same goals as any firm. We want to invest profitably but do it from an ethically.

PHIL: Do you also consider the issue of artificial contraception?

JOHN: Absolutely. That's a good question. If we did run across a company that made contraceptives we wouldn't buy stock in it. We're trying to run our firm according to Catholic principles.

PHIL: "Ethical investing" isn't new, but making pro-life issues a part of it is. Why don't you describe the history of ethical investing?

JOHN: Ethical investing has been around for about thirty years. Unfortunately, it usually stood for avoiding companies that were involved in animal testing, weapons production and tobacco. There was no emphasis on avoiding companies involved with the major issues of abortion, pornography, and contraception. One of the terms that they throw around on Wall Street is "socially responsible investing." I prefer to use the phrase, "morally responsible investing," which includes these key issues related to the battle between the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death.

PHIL: For those who may need some convincing, can we point our readers to any specific Church teaching on this topic?

JOHN: I think it gets back to the fact that our faith needs to be lived out practically in our every day lives and that there is no reason for our investing to be any different. One Biblical reference that I look to is Ecclesiasticus 31: 8, "Blessed is the rich man that is without blemish."

One common question people have is whether investing in this manner will reduce their returns. While I don't believe that is necessarily true, Sacred Scripture is clear that we can't separate our faith from our investing. Proverbs 15:16 says, "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it," and Proverbs 28:20 says, "A faithful man shall abound with blessings but he that hastens to be rich shall not be innocent." These are pretty clear indications that we have to be doing the right things with our money.

PHIL: In addition to the references from scripture, I recall our Holy Father's words in one of his encyclicals on economics, Centesimus Annus (section 36). He points to this whole lack of a moral perspective, not just on investing, but in many areas of our economy and economic activity. He says, "even the decision to invest in one place rather than another, in one productive sector rather than another, is always a moral and cultural choice," and within the two or three pages following that he goes into the whole issue of the culture of death and abortion. It's easy for me to see how he's linking these two issues and we should be as well.

Let's turn a corner and speak to that couple who has some money to invest in a mutual fund. What can they do practically to follow your principles?

JOHN: The first thing they should do is call the mutual fund company and ask for a list of holdings. While waiting for that to arrive, they should contact three additional organizations. The first is Pro Vita Advisors (513-298-8125) which tracks insurance companies and abortifacient producers that are involved in the abortion industry. The second one is Life Decisions International (716-839-4420) which tracks companies that directly give money to Planned Parenthood. The third one is St. Antoninus Institute (202-686-0849) which tracks companies on several levels. Each of these organizations will provide lists of companies which participate in the culture of death and should be avoided as investments. The mutual fund's list of holdings can then be screened against these lists to see if there are companies that should be avoided. If so, you can contact the mutual fund company to express your concern and begin searching for an alternative investment.

PHIL: I know that neither one of us is in a position to make any type of specific investment recommendation, but I think it's fair to let our readers know that there is a relatively new mutual fund called The Timothy Plan, which screens its investments to exclude companies involved with abortion, pornography, alcohol, tobacco and casino gambling.

Otherwise, investors who want to build their own portfolio of stocks would have to take responsibility for the screening themselves using the lists they had received, isn't that right?

JOHN: That's exactly right. If they use a broker they can just provide copies of those lists to the broker.

PHIL: Well, John, this has been a real pleasure speaking with you today and learning about how we can practically apply our faith even in the area of our investing. By the way, when is your baby due?

JOHN: (Laughter) My wife is 40 weeks along, so the baby is due at any moment.

PHIL: We wish you our best.

JOHN: Thanks. God bless you.

PHIL: God bless you too, John.

Philip Lenahan is founder and president of Financial Foundations for the Family.

The content of this article is intended solely for informational and educational purposes from a moral perspective. Nothing herein should be viewed as specific investment advice or an endorsement for any financial organization.