More than half of all investors — including three out of five who are religious — make their religious beliefs and other personal values a part of deciding how to invest and make other financial choices, according to a survey conducted by Mennonite Mutual Aid (MMA) and sponsored by MMA Praxis Mutual Funds, a mutual fund designed to reflect Anabaptist Christian beliefs and values.
The report, “Where Faith and Wall Street Intersect,” analyzes data from an Opinion Research Corporation International (ORCI) survey of 1,141 U.S. investors.
MMA President and CEO and MMA Praxis Chair Howard L. Brenneman said, “The vast majority of U.S. investors are guided in their financial decisions by a spiritual life and ethical concerns. The result is that faith and money are just as inseparable today as they were in 2,000 years ago. In fact, some theologians calculate that the Ne w Testament gives more instruction on money and resources than on most other issues.”
The study, released Aug. 29, found:
The vast majority of U.S. investors are religious. Eight out of 10 (79 percent) investors describe themselves as religious or spiritual. Women are more likely to characterize themselves this way than are men- 83 percent compared to 74 percent. The only significant factor by race is among blacks, 90 percent of whom classify themselves as religious or spiritual. The large majority of investors identified themselves as either Christian traditions: Protestant, Catholic or fundamentalist Christian.
Most religious Americans who invest combine faith with their finances. Three out of five (62 percent) religious Americans who currently invest exercise their values in financial decision-making or are inclined to do so. This compares to only 33 percent of nonreligious investors exhibiting a tendency to combine their personal values in their financial decision-making processes.
More than half of all U.S. investors make faith or personal values part of their financial decision making processes.
While investors indicated a willingness to apply faith-based standards to investment decisions, only 18 percent of investors said they knew about religiously affiliated mutual funds.
Faith-based mutual funds screen investment decisions based on criteria beyond financial performance. For instance, a fund might exclude companies that are involved in pornography or companies with poor labor records overseas.
The survey was conducted in using random sampling procedures, and results were weighted based on age, sex, geographic region and race to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total population. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
(EP)
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