Faith-based investing (also known as Christian or Biblical investing) is designed to align your investment decisions with your Christian values. As Christian financial advisors serving Woodstock, GA and Marietta, GA, we specialize in guiding clients to invest in ways that avoid providing unknowing support to causes that conflict with their beliefs. In this post, we’ll explain how faith-based investing works, how it influences investment decisions, and how it enables you to honor your faith through your investment choices. The approach can be broken down into three key segments:
Avoid
Faith-Based funds, asset managers, and financial advisors use screening tools that work like a company background check. This check tracks corporate activity and SEC filings to make sure the investment doesn’t trigger moral red flags by biblical standards.
Consider the issue of ensuring the safety of children online. Meta’s platforms—Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp—have long been ranked as hotspots for various crimes and harms. Whistleblower reports, lawsuits, and Congressional hearings have confirmed that Mark Zuckerberg and Meta’s leadership have a history of explicitly choosing not to address the harms their platforms cause to children. Here are two examples from the National Center on Sexual Exploitation:
- A leading psychologist who advised Meta on suicide prevention and self-harm resigned from Meta’s SSI expert panel, alleging that the company willfully neglected harmful content on Instagram, ignored expert recommendations, and prioritized financial gain over protecting lives.
- Despite knowledge of multiple cases of 16–17-year-olds dying by suicide due to Instagram“ sextortion”[1] schemes, Meta refuses to provide 16-17 year-olds the same life-saving features given to 13-15-year olds.
Companies that fail to take the protection of children seriously would be excluded by faith-based investment screens.
[1]Sextortion is a nefarious scheme to lure unsuspecting individuals to post sexually explicit and compromising photos of themselves on a site which are then used to extort money or fear of exposing the photos through threats.
Embrace
Faith-based investing is not just about avoiding certain companies; it aims to EMBRACE those that promote human flourishing. This means supporting companies that treat their customers, employees, and the public well by providing products (or services) that bring value to society.
A great example of this is TransMedics, a top holding in one of the faith-based funds used in our client portfolios. TransMedics’ vision is to increase the number of life-saving organ transplants. They believe that “Every organ wasted is a life not saved.” Traditionally, donated organs placed on ice remain viable for only a few hours, limiting their usage. Only 2-3 out of every 10 donated thoracic organs can be used for transplants.
TransMedics developed the Organ Care System (OCS) technology to address this problem. Their FDA-approved system keeps organs viable for up to 24 hours, while allowing doctors to assess their condition throughout the process. This innovation maximizes the potential for life-saving transplants and improves patient outcomes.
Transmedics Organ Care System for the heart
Engage
In addition, faith-based investing actively engages companies on key issues. This involves filing shareholder resolutions, holding conversations with corporate management, and supporting the affirming efforts of coalition partners. Through this engagement, faith-based investment firms motivate positive change in the marketplace.
For instance, Inspire Funds recently shared some of their 2024 shareholder engagement successes. One notable win persuaded Chase to remove its controversial “social risk” policy, which was used to de-bank several Christian organizations. [1]
Avoid, Embrace, and Engage—illustrates how faith-based investing works. It’s a powerful way to align your investments with your faith and values. If you have any questions or would like to discuss implementing faith-based investments in your own portfolio, please reach out to us.
Learn more about faith-based investing.
Learn more about the benefits of retirement planning with Strategic Stewardship.
[1]Sources: National Center on Sexual Exploitation - Meta , Transmedics , Inspire Funds
The returns on a portfolio consisting primarily of Faith Based investments may be lower or higher than a portfolio that is more diversified or where decisions are based solely on investment considerations. Portfolio criteria exclude some investments, investors may not be able to take advantage of the same opportunities or market trends as investors who may not use such criteria.