What does it mean to audit your investment portfolio for values alignment?
Auditing for values alignment is the process of reviewing every holding in your portfolio to check whether the companies you own operate in ways that match your personal beliefs, whether those are rooted in a particular set of values, commitments to environmental stewardship, a focus on human rights, or other principles.
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Most Canadian investors hold mutual funds or ETFs, which means they own pieces of dozens or hundreds of companies without knowing what each one does.
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A practical audit starts with pulling your full holdings list, reading your fund facts documents on SEDAR+, and checking top positions against specific research criteria such as the eight biblical alignment categories used by Capstone Asset Management in its biblically informed funds.
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The five-step checklist below walks you through exactly how to do it, and where the process gets harder than most investors expect.
A checklist for Canadian investors who want to know what their money actually supports.
You tithe. You give to causes that matter. You make choices every day with your money that reflect what you believe.
But if you manage your own investments and have not taken a hard look at your portfolio, there is a good chance many of the companies in it are involved in activities that conflict with your convictions about human flourishing, decency, and what is good for the world.
The checklist below walks you through five practical steps to start checking your holdings against your values. It will also show you where the process gets complex. DIY investing can make it difficult to maintain consistent values alignment while still pursuing the financial performance needed to reach your goals. That is where a professional manager who shares your values can make a real difference, delivering both the discipline and the peace of mind that come from knowing your portfolio is working for you on every level.
Step 1: How to Pull Your Full Investment Holdings List (Mutual Funds & ETFs)
A portfolio values alignment audit helps you understand exactly where your money is invested and whether those investments match your principles. Before you can judge alignment, you need to know what you own. Log into your brokerage or adviser platform and list every fund in your registered and non-registered accounts.
For each fund, write down the fund name, the fund code or ticker symbol, and the percentage it represents in your overall portfolio. If you hold individual stocks, note those too.
This step sounds simple, but many investors have accounts spread across multiple institutions, old employer plans, or spousal accounts they have not looked at in years. Gather everything in one place first.
Step 2: Where to Find Your Mutual Fund & ETF Facts on SEDAR+ (Canadian Investors)
Every publicly traded mutual fund and ETF in Canada is required to publish a document called "Fund Facts" (for mutual funds) or "ETF Facts" (for ETFs). These are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Look for three things in each document:
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The fund's stated investment objective
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The investment strategy, including any mention of values, ethics, or research criteria
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The top 10 holdings by percentage weight
If a fund claims to follow responsible or ethical guidelines, the strategy section should explain exactly how. Vague language like "considers ESG factors" without further detail is worth questioning.
Step 3: How to Check Your Fund's Top 10 Holdings for Values Alignment
The top 10 positions in any fund typically represent a significant share of your money in that fund. Start your review there.
For each company, ask yourself: do I know what this company does? Look up each one and note its primary business activity. A quick review of the company's website, annual report, or a financial news summary can give you what you need.
This step is a practical shortcut. It will not give you a complete picture of every holding, but it will tell you whether the fund's largest positions align with what you care about.
Step 4: How to Apply Biblical Screening Criteria to Your Portfolio
This is where values become specific. A biblical screening process typically identifies companies misaligned with Christian principles. Decide which business activities you want to avoid. For investors whose values are informed by Christian principles, a common set of biblical research criteria might include:
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Predatory Lending
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Gaming
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Weapons Manufacturing
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Excessive Political & Social Activism
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Alcohol/Cannabis/Tobacco
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Human Rights Violations
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Adult Entertainment
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Abortion
Once you have your list, check whether any of the companies in your portfolio's top holdings are involved in those activities. Revenue breakdowns are sometimes available in annual reports, but this information is often difficult to find, especially for large conglomerates with dozens of business segments.
Step 5: How to Evaluate Positive Values Alignment Beyond Exclusions
Excluding harmful industries is only one half of the picture. Values-aligned investing also means asking what your portfolio actively supports.
Are the companies you hold contributing to human flourishing? Do they demonstrate responsible stewardship of natural resources? Are their business practices consistent with the principles you want to see reflected in the world?
This layer of positive values alignment requires deeper research into corporate behaviour, governance, and culture than a basic portfolio audit. It's harder to do on your own without dedicated research support. There is no single database that answers these questions cleanly.
Why a DIY Portfolio Values Alignment Audit Is Harder Than Most Expect
If you have made it through all five steps, you have already done more than most self-directed investors ever will. But you have also likely run into a few challenges along the way, or you’re already anticipating where those challenges lie.
Fund holdings change every quarter, sometimes more often. A company that passes your review today may shift its business mix next quarter. Staying current requires ongoing monitoring, not a one-time checklist.
Many funds hold 50 to 200 or more individual stocks. Reviewing the top 10 is a useful starting point, but it still leaves the majority of your holdings unexamined.
Revenue data is not always transparent. A company may derive a small but meaningful percentage of its revenue from an activity you want to avoid, and that information may be buried deep in supplementary financial filings.
And perhaps most importantly, applying values criteria consistently requires judgement. Reasonable people will disagree about where to draw the line, which is why having a defined process and clear principles matters more than any single decision.
How Capstone Asset Management Maintains Ongoing Values Alignment
For investors who want ongoing values alignment, the challenge is building a repeatable, accountable process they can remain confident in.
That is what Capstone Asset Management has done with the Capstone Biblically Informed Canadian Equity and U.S. Equity Funds and its biblically informed analysis. Capstone's approach starts with traditional fundamental analysis and adds a biblical research layer guided by four principles:
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Valuing Human Life
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Stewarding Creation Responsibly
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Encouraging Human Flourishing
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Applying Biblical Wisdom
A dedicated analyst conducts ongoing research on every holding. Capstone also partners with Brightlight Impact, an independent third-party research firm that performs independent analysis in addition to Capstone's own work, providing support to the decision-making process. All stock selections are then reviewed and approved by Capstone's Biblically Informed Overlay (BIO) Committee. Research is compiled and submitted to this committee for review and approval before any stock is included in the funds.
That level of continuous, multi-layered research is difficult for any individual investor to replicate on their own. And that is the real takeaway from this exercise: a checklist can start the conversation, but maintaining alignment across changing holdings, fund structures, and market conditions takes a disciplined, ongoing commitment.
If aligning your portfolio with Christian values matters to you, the five steps above will help you understand where you stand today. And when you are ready for a more thorough approach, Capstone's biblically informed process is built to carry that work forward on your behalf.
To learn more, visit capstoneassets.ca or speak with your financial adviser about the Capstone Biblically Informed Canadian Equity and U.S. Equity Funds.
Important Disclosures: Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses may be associated with investments in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed; their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. The simplified prospectus, fund facts, and ETF facts are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or consult with a registered investment dealer or advisor.