What is Biblically Responsible Investing?

So, how much money is ok to earn on our investments from human trafficking, abortion, pornography, LGBT activism, or other immoral and unbiblical practices?

If we own stock in a corporation, hold a mutual fund (that contains many stocks and/or bonds), or are a holder of an employer retirement plan, we may be putting our money (i.e. God's money) to work earning from some of these unbiblical practices without even realizing it. The S&P 500 is full of examples of companies that directly support and promote some of these practices. If you want to find out more, go to www.inspireinsight.com and enter in an investment ticker or company. Whether we are shareholders of a company or own a mutual fund or ETF that holds many positions, we are directly or indirectly part owners of each. What this implies is that as owners, we explicitly endorse the policies and practices of each company. Am I ok with this? Fundamentally, am I taking God's character and His desires into account when making my investment decisions to own or not own certain investments (aka biblical stewardship)?

If this does not sit well with you, and you think there may be a problem, should we, and how can we fix this?

This is where Biblically Responsible Investing, or BRI, comes in. BRI is a way to align our investing with our biblical values. It is taking action to say no to unbiblical and immoral business practices - and earning from them. It is making a fundamental change in our investing mindset and approach - reference the stewardship comment above. Investing in this way sends a powerful message to Wall Street and Corporations that God’s people care about biblical values enough to put our money where our faith is.

As an advisor, the common arguments I hear against taking action on this issue are "Well, it is just too hard to discern what a company actually is and is not doing internally. Or this mutual fund has too many holdings to sort through to figure it out, so why bother and just roll with it." Closely related to "Yeah, I know this stuff is going on and I don't like it, but I have no power to change it, so I might as well earn from them, and I can turn around and do good with the money I earn from that."

(A) The first argument just isn't true. There are definitely many ways to understand what is going on with a company's policies and practices, how they run their business and impact the world around them. I mentioned Inspire Insight above - screening processes like this one do a lot of the heavy lifting for us! For a biblical basis here, see Ephesians 5:11 - "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." And (B) Is the second argument above a biblical approach to view the ends as justifying the means? Does it matter how I earn on my investments to get to the result I want, or is it all just the bottom line and any means to reach the goal is justified? Even if my ultimate intentions are good? Reference Proverbs 16:8 - "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice."

We all want to be sensibly trying to maximize our return. And as believers, we want to be a multiplier for the kingdom. But what is the biblical approach to this? I think Wall Street and the world has it completely backwards. They first look to maximize return and then justify or rationalize the means to get there. Instead, we should be making biblical values the first priority in investment decisions as an obedient act of worship for the glory of God. And then take into consideration maximizing returns and minimizing expenses within the context of what is available in a biblically-responsible investing space.

Another common question I receive is "If I switch to biblically-responsible investing, will I have to sacrifice my performance and returns?" The short answer is no. There are actually many alternatives out there beyond the magnificent 7 tech giants. This is where an advisor can really help a lot in portfolio selection and construction and maximizing returns for the risk and keeping fees low. Also, a resource for us to examine the options in the BRI investing space can be found at www.faithdriveninvestor.org/mutual-funds. Inspire Investing is one of many providers to explore there.

If you need some guidance or have questions about this, or if you want to find out what is in your portfolio and possible BRI alternatives, please reach out anytime. We're happy to look at where you are today and see how to make positive change from your investing to the kingdom and the bottom line.

Blessings to you!