Like Monaghan, the philosophy of the fund will be conservative. One aim is to avoid companies that have any connection, even a remote one, to facilitating abortions. A strict anti-abortion screen alone will eliminate most pharmaceutical companies, said Gregg Watkins, portfolio manager for the Ave Maria fund. Another aim is to weed out companies that could profit from pornography. One company that could fall into that category would be General Motors Corp. , whose Hughes Electronics Corp. sells DirecTV .
Pay television can be an avenue for pornography.
Watkins said the fund would not own GM because of Hughes. He noted that subscribers can lock out certain channels to prevent children from viewing them. The fund also will not invest in companies that offer the same health care and other benefits to domestic partners as they would to married couples. Watkins would not say what stocks the fund would buy in advance of purchases. He did say that the main limits on holdings would involve abortion and companies that do not promote traditional family values.