Religion is inspiring a different way to invest

Inscribed on every coin in the realm is an abbreviation of the title fidei defensor (meaning 'defender of the faith' in the vernacular), first bestowed on James IV of Scotland by Pope Julius II and used by Christian monarchs down the ages. As that suggests, money and religious faith have an integral relationship. What we believe influences how we act, and this applies to decision making in the market. Religious beliefs and principles can inform how private investors and money managers allocate cash – and often in quite a different way to more recent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attitudes.

For those who want to pursue this link further when investing, there are a varying degree of options depending on where you live. The US market is one which is notably developed in this area. This is perhaps not surprising, given that 69 per cent of US adults identified as religious, according to 2021 research by the Pew Research Center think tank. This level is expected to fall, however, given the trend across the West of rising numbers of people who say they hold no religious belief.