It is a question we hear from church treasurers and trustees across the UK, week in, week out: "We have reserves sitting in a bank account. We know we should be investing them. But how do we do that without putting money into companies that contradict everything we stand for?"
It is a completely legitimate concern, and one that deserves a straight answer. The good news is that investing faithfully is not only possible, it is increasingly well-supported, well-evidenced, and entirely consistent with strong financial returns.
At Epworth Investment Management Ltd (“Epworth”), we have been helping churches, circuits, and denominations invest in line with Christian values for decades. As part of the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church, and with around £1.3 billion under management, Christian ethics are not a box we tick. They are the foundation of everything we do.
This post sets out exactly how a church can approach its investments without compromising its faith, and what to look for in a manager who takes that responsibility seriously.
The core principle: Faith-consistent investing means ensuring your money does not work against your mission. It means avoiding harm, seeking good, and using your position as an investor to hold companies to account. It is stewardship in the fullest sense of the word.
Why This Question Matters More Than Ever
Churches across the UK are sitting on significant financial reserves. Many of those reserves are either earning minimal interest in current accounts, or invested in funds with no ethical framework whatsoever. That is a problem, and not just a theological one.
According to research by FaithInvest, only 55% of faith organisations clearly stated the role of faith in their Investment Policy Statement. That means nearly half of all faith-based investors have no formal mechanism for ensuring their money reflects their beliefs. Charity regulators and auditors are increasingly expecting that gap to be closed.
The reputational risk is real. A church that preaches justice on Sunday but holds shares in tobacco companies, gambling operators, or fossil fuel extractors through Monday's investment fund faces a credibility problem. As the Church Investors Group puts it, failure to address potential misalignment between investments and faith-based values "can often lead to reputational risk or other kinds of unintentional harm."
The financial case for acting is equally compelling. Faith-consistent investing does not mean accepting lower returns. The evidence increasingly points the other way.
- The Church of England's endowment fund, guided by strict ethical principles, delivered a 10.3% return in 2024, its sixteenth consecutive year of positive returns, with the fund now valued at £11.1 billion.
- Ethical screening and active engagement are now widely recognised as tools for identifying well-governed, sustainable businesses, which tend to be more resilient over the long term.
The question, then, is not whether to invest ethically. It is how to do it properly.
Step One: Start With Your Values, Not the Market
The starting point for any church investment strategy is not a fund factsheet. It is a conversation about what you believe and what you stand for.
Before choosing a fund or an investment manager, your trustees should be able to answer three questions clearly:
- What activities or industries are incompatible with our faith? These become the basis of your exclusion criteria.
- What positive outcomes do we want our investments to support? This shapes your positive screening approach.
- How do we want to use our position as an investor to influence corporate behaviour? This is the foundation of your engagement policy.
These answers should be formalised in an Investment Policy Statement (IPS), a document that sets out your financial objectives, your ethical requirements, and how you expect your investment manager to act on your behalf. The Church Investors Group's guidance on working with investment managers provides an excellent framework for trustees who are starting this process.
The Biblical Grounding
Christian ethical investment is not a modern invention. It draws on centuries of theological reflection on money, power, and responsibility.
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; defend the rights of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9)
These are not abstract principles. They have direct implications for how we allocate capital. We explore this in more detail in our post on the biblical foundations for ethical investment.
Step Two: Understand What Ethical Screening Actually Means
The phrase "ethical investment" is used widely, and not always rigorously. For churches, it is important to understand the difference between a generic ESG (environmental, social, and governance) screen and a genuinely theologically informed approach.
At Epworth, our screening process is shaped by decades of experience working with Christian communities. It is not simply a matter of avoiding a few controversial sectors. It is a living, reviewed framework grounded in Christian teaching.
What We Exclude
Our exclusion criteria cover activities that are fundamentally incompatible with Christian ethics. These include:
| Sector | Reason for Exclusion |
| Fossil fuel extraction and coal mining | Care for creation; climate justice |
| Tobacco | Harm to human health and dignity |
| Gambling | Exploitation of vulnerability |
| High-interest lending | Exploitation of the poor |
| Weapons manufacturing (indiscriminate systems) | Peacemaking and human rights |
| Adult entertainment | Human dignity |
| Companies with serious human rights or child labour violations | Justice and protection of the vulnerable |
This is not a generic ESG screen. It is a theologically informed process, reviewed and updated in line with Christian teaching and the guidance of bodies such as the Methodist JACEI (Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics of Investment).
What We Seek Out
Exclusion alone is not enough. Positive screening means actively looking for companies that contribute to justice, sustainability, and human dignity. We look for firms with:
- Strong, verified climate commitments (science-based targets)
- Transparent and ethical supply chains
- Genuine commitment to worker rights and gender equality
- Responsible governance structures
This dual approach, excluding harm and seeking good, is what how ethical screening works behind the scenes at Epworth is all about.
Step Three: Use Your Voice as an Investor
Many churches do not realise that investing gives them a voice. As shareholders in companies, investors have the right to vote at AGMs, engage directly with management, and push for change on issues that matter.
This is not a marginal activity. It is one of the most powerful tools available to faith-based investors, and it is something we take seriously at Epworth.
Active engagement in practice means we:
- Vote at company AGMs in line with Christian principles on issues including climate, executive pay, and human rights
- Write directly to company boards to raise concerns or request transparency
- Join investor coalitions to amplify our voice on systemic issues
- Consider divestment as a last resort, when engagement has genuinely failed
The scale of this kind of activity across the faith investment community is significant. In 2023 alone, faith-consistent investors engaged with hundreds of companies on environmental and social issues. To put that in context, the Church Investors Group coordinates voting guidelines across its membership to ensure that Christian investors speak with a consistent and credible voice.
Why this matters for your church: When you invest with an ethically committed manager, your reserves are not just sitting in a portfolio. They are actively being used to improve corporate behaviour. That is stewardship in action.
Epworth was also the first fund manager in the UK to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark, demonstrating that our commitment to ethical conduct extends to our own operations, not just the companies we invest in.
What Investment Options Are Available to Churches?
The practical question for most church treasurers is: what do we actually invest in? The answer depends on the size of your reserves, your risk appetite, and your need for liquidity.
At Epworth, we offer two main routes for churches.
The WS Epworth Multi Asset Fund
For churches of any size looking for a straightforward, diversified investment solution, the WS Epworth Multi Asset Fund is designed to do exactly that. Key features include:
- Minimum investment of £1,000, making it accessible to smaller congregations
- A balanced portfolio of ethically screened equities, bonds, property, cash, and alternative assets
- Designed to deliver both income and long-term capital growth
- 50% of the management fee donated to Christian Aid's In Their Lifetime programme, meaning your investment directly supports global mission
This is a practical, all-in-one solution for churches that want their reserves working harder without the complexity of managing a bespoke portfolio.
The Discretionary Portfolio Service
For larger churches or those with more specific requirements, our Discretionary Portfolio Service offers a tailored approach. We take the time to understand your organisation's individual needs, risk tolerance, and ethical priorities, then construct a bespoke portfolio from one of five investment strategies, all built on our Christian ethical criteria.
The Climate Stewardship Fund
For churches with a particular focus on environmental stewardship and the climate emergency, the Epworth Climate Stewardship Fund for Charities goes further still, excluding all fossil fuel companies and actively constructing a portfolio with emissions reduction at its core.
The key point is that there is no single right answer for every church. What matters is that the solution you choose has a genuine, auditable, and theologically grounded ethical framework, not just a marketing label.
A Word on Greenwashing
It would be remiss not to address this directly. The growth of "ethical" and "sustainable" investment marketing has created a significant risk for church trustees: not every fund that claims to be ethical actually is.
Greenwashing, the practice of presenting investments as more ethical or sustainable than they really are, is a genuine problem in the industry. A fund might exclude a handful of obvious sectors while still holding substantial positions in companies with poor human rights records, aggressive tax practices, or questionable governance.
For church trustees, the questions to ask any investment manager include:
- Can you provide a full list of excluded sectors and the thresholds you apply?
- How do you define and verify positive screening criteria?
- What is your engagement record, and can you share specific examples?
- Is your ethical framework theologically informed, or is it a standard ESG overlay?
- Who reviews and updates your ethical policy, and how often?
We have written a more detailed guide on avoiding greenwashing and what trustees need to know about ethical investment marketing. It is worth reading before you make any decisions.
The standard to hold any manager to: if they cannot answer those questions with transparency and specificity, that is your answer.
Investing Faithfully Is Not a Compromise
The question at the top of this post assumes a tension that, in our experience, does not have to exist. Investing your church's funds faithfully is not a compromise between financial prudence and Christian values. Done properly, the two are entirely aligned.
Your reserves exist to serve your mission. An investment strategy that contradicts that mission is not just a theological problem; it is a governance failure. As trustees, you have a responsibility to ensure that every financial decision, including how you invest, reflects the values your church upholds.
The encouraging reality is that the tools, the funds, and the expertise to do this well are all available. The Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group, the Church Investors Group, and specialist managers like Epworth have collectively built a robust ecosystem for faith-consistent investing in the UK.
If you are not sure where to start, we are here to help. Whether you have £5,000 in reserves or £5 million, whether you are a local congregation or a national denomination, we can help you develop an investment strategy that is genuinely aligned with your mission.
Get in touch with our team at epworthim.com/churches to find out more about how we work with churches across the UK.
Epworth Investment Management Limited (“Epworth”) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA Registered Number 175451). It is incorporated in England and Wales (Registered Number 3052894), with a registered office at Methodist Church House, 25 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SF and is wholly owned by the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church. Epworth-managed funds are designed for long term investors. The value of units in funds can fall as well as rise and past performance is not a guide to future returns. The level of income is also variable and investing in Epworth
funds will not be suitable for you if you cannot accept the possibility of capital losses or reduced income. Any estimates of future capital or income returns or details of past performance are for information purposes and are not to be relied on as a guide to future performance.