The first half of 2025 has presented a contrast from our perspective as Quaker values investors. On the one hand, as CIO Rich Kent covers in detail, equities have largely rebounded after a steep, tariff-related dive in spring, leaving multiple segments of the market up significantly on the year. On the other, there is a sense that Quaker values are so under threat—values of equity, sustainability, integrity and peace—that swings in government and corporate policy are increasing the likelihood of long-term economic risks.
Despite this policy environment, at Friends Fiduciary the work of aligning invested capital with Quaker values continues unabated. One example is our recent Peace Testimony Convening.
As global conflict has grown in recent years, the weaponization of technology has rapidly escalated. In Ukraine, drones and a range of other technical components are being combined and deployed to lethal effect. In Gaza, artificial intelligence has played a key role in targeting decisions resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians. In China’s Xinjiang region, a combination of facial recognition, biometric data collection and mobile phone surveillance is being deployed to target the Uyghur Muslim minority.
In keeping with the Quaker Testimony of Peace, Friends Fiduciary does not invest in companies that produce or sell weapons. Friends Fiduciary has not historically defined dual use or “off the shelf” products as weapons, unless companies make specific modifications with the intent that their products be used as weapons or weapons components. But these distinctions have become increasingly challenging, as new technologies not designed for violent purposes are nevertheless adapted to those ends.
Last fall, to help ground our investment work amidst this rapidly-evolving landscape, Friends Fiduciary’s investment committee began a process we referred to as the Peace Testimony Convening. The concept was to bring together a diverse group of Quakers and non-Quaker experts for structured sessions and discernment that would help guide Friends Fiduciary’s investment process around the Quaker Peace Testimony.
Our group included sixteen Friends from a diversity of geographical, professional, and Quaker faith backgrounds, including those with ties to yearly meetings around the country, FGC, FUM, other Friends churches, organizations like FCNL and AFSC, and several Friends with deep investment experience. For our first session, we also invited guests from outside peace churches, including the Church of the Brethren, Mennonite, and Unitarian Universalist traditions, as well as subject matter experts on conflict and weaponized technology, to share their wisdom.
At the heart of the Peace Testimony Convening sessions—focused on threshing and discernment using a series of queries around the Peace Testimony, weaponized technology, and Friends Fiduciary’s investment work—a theme began to emerge. From a wide range of perspectives and a recognition of the complexity of these issues, Friends nevertheless spoke again and again about the importance of being in dialogue with companies whose products are at risk of being weaponized. Recognizing that our systems of finance and corporate governance are far from perfect, there was a strong sense that Friends Fiduciary’s role is to advocate for Quaker values with those in positions of power. The importance of this shareholder advocacy work, when that work has the opportunity to make an impact, was repeatedly lifted up.
Following three extensive sessions with the group of Friends making up the Peace Testimony Convening, along with several more small group meetings, the Peace Testimony Working Group of Friend’s Fiduciary’s Investment Committee recommended the following updates related to Friends Fiduciary’s screening and engagement process, which have now been adopted by our investment committee and board of directors.
- That we reaffirm our commitment, codified in our investment guidelines, to “exclude from our portfolios companies whose business involves the production, distribution, and/or direct support of weapons or weapons components.”
- That, in cases where products not designed as weapons appear to be “weaponized,” i.e. adapted for use as weapons of war, we affirm additional discernment is required. The need for additional discernment stems from our recognition that in some cases, the simple binary of investment or divestment does not capture the complexity of these decisions and the impact they may have on society, on our constituents, and on Friends Fiduciary. Among the potential outcomes of this additional discernment are investment decisions conditioned on positive long-term shareholder engagement, with the goal of strengthening corporate policy against product weaponization and other forms of violence, in support of core Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship.
I know Friends Fiduciary will benefit immensely from the insights and decision-making aids that came out of the Peace Testimony Convening, insights and aids which we have already begun to put to use. Our gratitude goes out to all the Friends who took part in this process, which we will strive to lift up by further advancing our work toward a more peaceful world.