KBC, the Belgian banking and insurance group with a strong socially responsible investment track record, has launched a fund for Roman Catho...

KBC, the Belgian banking and insurance group with a strong socially responsible investment track record, has launched a fund for Roman Catholic investors which excludes from its investment remit anything that might be offensive to the Catholic Church, such as contraception or pornography. The Catholic fund has been launched to meet demand from private banks, institutions and pension funds whose members follow the Catholic faith to the letter. A spokesman for KBC told WealthBriefing: “Catholic investment vehicles which observe certain strictures of the Holy See and screened indexes, taking account of faith, have been around in the US for some time now. It is time to provide faith-based investing alternatives for the many millions of Catholics who want to keep their personal finances from running afoul of their religious values.” The US has seen the recent launch of the Catholic Equity Fund and the Ave Maria Catholic Values Fund. In Europe, Fortis has launched a fund called Evangelion that seeks sustainable investments and gives dividends to Christian organisations.