This article was originally posted on Christian Super’s blog by one of their impressive leaders, Tim Macready. We have worked closely ChristianSuper and Tim in a variety of settings and are honored to have him on our Blog!

— by Tim Macready

As Chief Investment Officer of a Christian pension fund, it occurs to me frequently that 25,000 Australians have entrusted their retirement savings to us. This is a substantial responsibility.

Our beneficiaries trust that we will work to the utmost of our abilities to ensure they are well-provided for so they can live a fruitful and purposeful retirement. In addition, they trust that how we invest their retirement savings between now and their retirement (and even, in many cases, during their retirement) will reflect our shared Christian faith and values. Both of these are complex issues.

Concerning the issue of how to invest a portfolio to generate strong risk-adjusted returns, there are myriad resources from which to draw. We have internal and external experts on asset allocation, manager selection, currency hedging, investment risk, and many other relevant matters. We can construct portfolios to give beneficiaries choice (Australia’s system has members bearing investment risk) to account for varying levels of risk and return appetite. These are all questions that have been and continue to be explored in detail by a wide range of people within the financial services industry.

The issue of applying Christian values to an investment portfolio, however, is not one that has been widely explored. What does it look like to invest, as a professional and fiduciary investor, in accordance with our faith?

Accordingly, we first seek to draw from biblical principles about the way we invest on behalf of those who have entrusted their money to us. This piece outlines some of our thoughts and conclusions.

The Context of Investing – Christian Stewardship

We believe two things are foundational in understanding the context of investing.

First, we strive to apply a Christian worldview. If we believe that God created the world, that humanity sinned and thus corrupted the entire world, and that God will one day completely redeem His creation, then this must influence the way we look at the world in every sense. Since investing is part of the world, what does it look like to apply this Christian worldview to investments?

Second, we also need an understanding of Christian stewardship. As a pension fund, we are a steward of our beneficiaries’ retirement savings. But our beneficiaries are themselves stewards of assets God has entrusted to them, with the expectation that they will use these assets on His behalf. What does it mean to act on behalf of another? What does it mean to act, in some senses, on behalf of God as His ambassadors, representatives, and stewards?

The Goal of Investing – Creation Care, Human Flourishing, and Redemptive Investing

To answer those questions, we thought about the role investing plays in the economy. In a transactional sense, investing is simply setting aside assets today so we can have more in the future. I believe there is a delayed gratification aspect of saving that is good for our souls. We learn to be patient and to look to the long term rather than being simply focussed on our immediate desires.

But in a much broader sense, investing is an opportunity to work out the mandate given to humanity in Genesis 1. Investing takes assets that would otherwise be unproductive (savings) and allocates them to parts of society that enable us to be productive.

We can provide capital to factories that produce goods, to enterprises that deliver valuable services like health and education, and to infrastructure such as roads and networks that enable the efficient transfer of goods and services. These enterprises form the backbone of the economy, creating jobs and playing an important role in exercising creation rule.

In this context, the mandate given to humanity to care for and cultivate creation becomes important, as we shall explore. As stewards, it’s important therefore to understand the way this investment activity interacts with God’s purposes and desires for His creation.

We can look at this in three ways. We seek to develop an understanding of our responsibilities in the area of Creation Care. “Fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28) is an instruction to create and cultivate, but not a mandate to destroy. Creation is not just a source of beauty and a reflection of God’s character. It also represents God’s provision of the natural means to meet our present and future needs and desires, along with the needs and desires of generations to come. We use what God has provided to grow food, to make clothing and shelter, to develop medicine, and to create all sorts of goods for our enjoyment. The appropriate stewarding of creation will ensure our ongoing ability to meet these and other needs.

But there is a more important component of stewardship that reflects the importance of Human Flourishing. God’s desire is for His creation to enjoy peace—shalom in Hebrew and eirene in Greek—which reflects wellbeing, health, prosperity, strong relationships, and a deep sense of contentment. This is a holistic sense of wellbeing that encompasses not only personal security and economic sufficiency, but also values human relationships and spiritual reconciliation. Investing is not just an opportunity to grow our personal economic prosperity, but to contribute towards genuine human flourishing. As investors, we must recognize that investing can contribute to this in at least two ways.

At a personal level, investing represents an opportunity to provide for our future needs by setting aside money today and growing it for the future.

At a societal level, the assets we invest can be used for productive purposes—to support the creation of goods, services, and jobs that support human flourishing.

Finally, there is an opportunity to invest in ways that contribute to the deeper, spiritual needs of humanity. This idea of Redemptive Investing sees investing (and indeed business as well) as more than just as an opportunity to acquire more assets and to work out our Christian faith through creation care and human flourishing. In addition, it becomes an opportunity to reconcile relationships with each other and with God. This might happen through investments that specifically target positive social and environmental outcomes or through investment in faith-lead businesses that live out their Christian values in the marketplace.

Practicalities

So what does this look like practically? In applying the theological to the practical we recognize the messiness of our world. No enterprise is perfect; we are always working in a world that needs to be redeemed and seeking to play a part in shaping the world through the investments we make.

And practicalities dictate application. Do we have enough assets to command influence or even to be able to invest in those things we think are important? Do we have the professional capacity to evaluate redemptive investments in ways that are consistent with our fiduciary responsibilities?

For us, this application works itself out in four key ways. Negative Screening is how we ensure we do not invest our beneficiaries’ assets in ways that are inconsistent with their faith. It means identifying and avoiding those companies that are damaging creation and disrespecting life in ways that are fundamentally inconsistent with creation care and human flourishing.

ESG Integration is looking at our investment portfolio not only in terms of financial factors, but also related to the environmental, social, and governance factors that play into an investment’s long-term ability to deliver sustainable and responsible investment returns. Factors such as a company’s long-term track record in employee safety or their ability to reduce waste show not only social responsibility but also financial prudence.

Active Engagement is our response to the responsibility we have to engage with those companies and enterprises in which we invest. We encourage them further in the direction of creation care and human flourishing, and challenge them to cease practices that are damaging these areas.

Impact Investing is the intentional allocation of assets to companies that are making the world a better place while still generating a financial return. This includes investments in health, education, microfinance, renewable energy, and social enterprise. For us, this includes a specific allocation to faith-led businesses, where Christian entrepreneurs are living out their faith in the marketplace as a witness to Christ.

Conclusion

Over a decade into this faith-lead investment approach, we have been blessed with a growing membership and asset base, along with investment performance that compares favorably with our peers in the market. It is entirely possible to apply a faith-based approach to investing and deliver the investment outcomes our beneficiaries expect. We are still very much on the journey of applying God’s Word to the way we, as Christian professionals, invest our beneficiaries’ assets. This includes learning to be better stewards of creation, looking for ways to promote human flourishing, and seeking to be redemptive in all we do.

Article was originally posted by our good friend Robert Kim on his personal blog. We are grateful to have his insights on this great panel at the Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) Conference 2018. Furthermore, we appreciate his leadership and amazing work in this particular setting!

— by Robert Kim

This October, I had an amazing opportunity to moderate a panel on faith-driven impact investing at SOCAP.  This was a special moment for me as this panel allowed me and the panelists to share about Jesus at one of the most prominent yet secular gatherings of impact investors and social entrepreneurs. 

Three panelists were Bryce Butler (Founder of Access Ventures, a private operating foundation committed to deploying 100% of its assets to impact investments), Gloria Nelund (Founder of TriLinc, an impact private debt fund that has deployed approximately $1 billion in emerging markets), and Todd Johnson (CEO of iPAR, an innovative impact reporting / analytics app that allows investors to monitor impact across asset classes).  I was incredibly encouraged and grateful for their enthusiastic “yes” to join this panel and share about the role their faith has played in shaping their impact investing journey.    

I’d like to share a few points from the panel:

1.  Understanding the purpose of capital and pursuing a healthy relationship with money is the first step towards a rewarding journey in impact investing.  Too often, our goals and behaviors are influenced by fear and greed that stem from idolizing money.  Truly embracing the perspective that money is just a tool liberates us to explore what money, and furthermore capitalism, can do other than simply meeting our own needs or, worse yet, feeding our insatiable greed to want more.  Such freedom allows us to use money as a resource to pursue the very calling God has equipped us for.  It enables us to creatively use all types of capital – philanthropic and investing – as a resource to benefit communities in need (physically and spiritually).  Convinced that all assets belong to God, Bryce is directing 100% of Access Ventures’ assets to pursue the foundation’s mission (not just the 5%, required by the U.S. government).  This model allows the foundation to catalyze a lot of the important work for communities in need, using both philanthropic and investing capital.  For example, Access Ventures uses its philanthropic capital to meet the immediate needs of a homeless community (e.g. food and clothing, etc.) in Louisville and uses the investment capital to invest in sustainable solutions that help prevent homelessness for families at risk (e.g. affordable housing). 

2.  Jesus’ love compels us to create new ideas and solutions to tackle some of the pressing societal needs.  For example, TriLinc has structured innovative investment vehicles and processes to give retail investors opportunities to make impact investments (impact investing has been and still is largely available to accredited investors only, so democratizing access to quality impact investments has always been a need in this industry).  Under Gloria’s leadership, TriLinc is changing the narrative that only the wealthy has the ability and opportunity to create impact through investments.  TriLinc is just one example – there are many more (e.g. a private equity firm has developed a process to help Christian entrepreneurs integrate their faith into the companies’ operations and culture.  Various Donor Advised Funds are ‘re-imagining’ the role of philanthropic capital to not only support non-profit organizations but also invest in faith-driven social entrepreneurs).  God’s love compels us to innovate and push the boundaries of existing paradigms for the sake of communities in need. 

3.  Lastly, our panel session touched upon the need to grow the faith-driven impact investing ecosystem.  While I am grateful for the opportunity to share about the Christian faith at SOCAP, the Gospel-influenced perspective has been largely missing in the impact investing conversations for the past 15+ years (I fully recognize that BAM and other Christian NGOs have been doing amazing mission-oriented work through micro finance and small businesses for decades.  Still, a majority of Christian investors and organizations have not been actively involved in shaping the impact investing industry). 

Fortunately, this is changing. 

More Christian investors – both individual investors and institutional organizations – are looking to deploy investment capital for financial, social, and spiritual returns.  Very exciting!

I’m excited for two reasons: for one, more capital will flow into sustainable mission-oriented companies that can help share the story of Jesus.  Secondly, Christian investors will have the opportunity to share the “why” behind their impact investing journey with peers in impact investing industry and share about the love of Christ.  

As we come together and prayerfully support the growth of this ecosystem, we will likely need to address some of the questions below (and many more!):

1. What is the definition of faith-driven impact investing?

2. How do we create a culture to embrace a diverse set of opinions and values while focusing on our common faith?

3. How do we maintain the spirit of sacrificial giving while pursuing market-rate financial returns in impact investments?

4. Is it wrong to generate market-rate financial returns through impact investments?  Should such a goal be encouraged or discouraged?  What are the pros and cons of each perspective?

5. How do we balance the need to evaluate and monitor impact while accepting the fact that spiritual impact is hard to measure?

6. What are some of the frameworks and processes that we can use from the impact investing industry to grow the faith-driven investing ecosystem?

While this ecosystem is relatively young, I’m encouraged to see some of my colleagues from forward-thinking organizations come together to collaborate and prayerfully lay the groundwork to help build up this ecosystem. 

The truth of the matter is..there is order of magnitude more capital in investing pool than in philanthropic pool.  Imagine the scale and depth of impact if an increasing share of the investing pool can be directed for good.  This is incredibly exciting.

This content was originally published here by the Christian Economic Forum (CEF).

— Christian Economic Forum

Last July 2018 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Henry moderated a panel at CEF called “Maximizing Our Investments,” one of the 5 topics that year. (You can find his thoughts on the event and whitepaper here.)

In the video clip today, Henry and panelist Tom Blaisdell discussed permanent capital as a unique and valuable approach for the Christ-centered investor. The panel as a whole highlights the importance of kingdom-minded economics as critical to faith-driven investing.

Enjoy the 4-min excerpt of the panel below and check out the full panel discussion here!

——

[Special thanks to rawpixel on Unsplash for the cover photo.]

We find the team chatting with Julie Barrios, of Nuos Formation, a spiritual formation enterprise focused on helping the entrepreneur develop healthy inner lives as part of purposeful living as a faith-driven entrepreneur. As she shares on her own entrepreneurial journey, Julie helps us see how “hustling” may be nothing more than another hamster wheel and living in obedience to God by surrendering our paths to Him might be the more excellent way. Making sure she makes room to hear from God, that she takes seriously the responsibility of stewarding what He has entrusted to her and knowing the difference between perseverance (a Fruit of the Spirit) and striving (NOT a fruit of the spirit) are all disciplines she’s applied to business and seeks to develop in her clientele.

 According to Julie, spiritual discipline at the onset is internalizing the structure of God’s Word in your heart then interpreting your world and reality from that structure. How has seeing your business through the lens of the Word of God, preferably written on your hearts, affected your mission and impact for the better? Drop us a line in the comment section below.

We find the team chatting with Julie Barrios, of Nuos Formation, a spiritual formation enterprise focused on helping the entrepreneur develop healthy inner lives as part of purposeful living as a faith-driven entrepreneur. As she shares on her own entrepreneurial journey, Julie helps us see how “hustling” may be nothing more than another hamster wheel and living in obedience to God by surrendering our paths to Him might be the more excellent way. Making sure she makes room to hear from God, that she takes seriously the responsibility of stewarding what He has entrusted to her and knowing the difference between perseverance (a Fruit of the Spirit) and striving (NOT a fruit of the spirit) are all disciplines she’s applied to business and seeks to develop in her clientele.

According to Julie, spiritual discipline at the onset is internalizing the structure of God’s Word in your heart then interpreting your world and reality from that structure. How has seeing your business through the lens of the Word of God, preferably written on your hearts, affected your mission and impact for the better? Drop us a line in the comment section below.

We are excited to share with you a chapter from the FREE resource compiled by Gary Hoag, Generosity Monk and Christian Super during the summer of 2018. Go here to download your FREE copy of “Purposeful Living: Financial Wisdom for All of Life” eBook!

— by Abel Pomar

Most of the decisions we make throughout the day involve money on some level. How we use money bears eternal significance. Maybe that’s why God’s Word provides more guidance on how we handle our money and resources than on nearly any other topic. At least one-third of Jesus’ parables involve the use or misuse of funds.

The parable of the talents (see Matthew 25:14-30) is a clear example of God’s distinct desire for us to invest the resources He entrusts to us with the expectation of fruitful increase. Whether we have been given great abilities, influence, and wealth, or very little, we must put to work what we have in keeping with our Master’s wishes.

But that’s not all God cares about. Psalm 112:5 teaches “Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.” God wants us to put His resources to work, and cares how we do it. This requires evaluating investment priorities and employing wisdom and integrity in our key decisions.

The book of Proverbs provides a wealth of insights for stewarding God’s provisions, encouraging us to pursue an investment mindset that has at least three characteristics.

1. Informed – Develop wise, strategic, and intentional plans.
Proverbs 21:5 states, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

2. Incremental – Patiently make good decisions over time.
Proverbs 13:11 states, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.”

 3. Honest – Operate with integrity, faithfully asking for and following God’s leading.
Proverbs 28:20 states, “A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.”

God cares what we do in putting to work what He’s given us and how we do it, taking an informed, incremental, and honest approach. From there, we make strategic decisions to invest with companies that sync with our beliefs and provide a meaningful return, in relationship to society and creation, above and beyond profits. It also helps us distance ourselves from investments that are in opposition to our faith. For instance, as early as the 18th century, the Quakers morally evaluated investments, withdrawing from the lucrative slave trade rather than profiting from the immoral activity.

Investing that Impacts the World

But is it enough to simply invest ethically with attention to both social impact and creation care? What if we consider how every aspect of our finances (investment funds, credit cards, even banking) can support causes in alignment with Scripture?

Most Christian consumers are not aware of the opportunities to align their finances with their faith on such a basic level. In fact, numerous financial service companies specifically seek to steward investments while leveraging profits to support organizations and causes that reflect Christian values.

Consider this example from my own office at Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU), serving Christian consumers in the United States. Our products are competitive with any bank (everyday accounts, savings accounts, loans, etc.). However, unlike most banks, our underlying mission is to “fuel Christ-centered ministry worldwide”, which means reinvesting profits into global ministry.

ECCU provides low-cost banking services to missionaries and low-interest loans to ministries. It may not sound like much — especially when our members are asked to do nothing more than everyday banking — but, last year we saved missionaries more than $1 million in fees. And that’s with having only 10,000 members in our midsized credit union.

The Pew Research Center reports some 806 million evangelical Christians worldwide. What if they all or a portion of them switched to a faith-based bank? A bank profits about $500 annually on an average family’s bank account. Adding in credit cards and loans, this could translate into an approximate $735 billion swing toward banks and credit unions that align with biblical faith and values.

Now, here’s the exciting part. ECCU is just one of many Christian financial institutions that can leverage funds into ministry fuel — helping Christians use their money to grow God’s kingdom.

All this points to resourcing Great Commission efforts (see Matthew 28:18-20). A powerful way that we as Christians can make Christ known is by actively engaging with ministries and organizations that will multiply the impact of our money — to do more good together than we can do on our own.