Sister Susan Francois, a Catholic nun and treasurer of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace, has built a reputation as a formidable activist investor taking on corporate America. Based at a convent in west London, the 53-year-old American has challenged companies from Citibank to Microsoft over issues ranging from human rights to climate change. The order has held shares since 1884.

The nuns ran a multiyear campaign at Citigroup focusing on the bank's financing of fossil-fuel projects and its impact on indigenous rights, winning support from about one-third of shareholders. They also prompted Microsoft to improve its lobbying disclosures. Now they are targeting Palantir, demanding a human rights impact assessment for the tech company's work with immigration enforcement and its controversial role in warfare. Palantir has urged shareholders to vote against the proposal.

The Sisters sold fossil-fuel shares in 2022 and are expanding into financial institutions and technology to drive change. Under the Trump administration, the SEC has made it easier for companies to reject ESG shareholder resolutions. Francois argues restricting shareholder questions poses a danger to corporate accountability. "Sisters are really persistent," she says.