Money, religion, and politics: all dinner table no-nos. But what about an investing strategy that combines them all?
A growing number of asset managers are picking investments based on the specific ideological, religious, or even political leanings of their investors—and making a profit to boot.
The biggest faith-based fund manager on the market is Inspire Investing. The firm screens for investments based on an “Inspire Score,” which it calculates “based on their alignment with biblical values and the degree to which they operate as blessings to their customers, communities, workforce and the world,” according to its website. That means screening out companies with any involvement in what it calls “violations,” such as embryonic stem cell research, gambling, tobacco, abortion rights, and IVF.
The firm’s largest fund, the $331 million Inspire 100 ETF (BIBL)—regardless of how you feel about this topic, you must admit that’s an apt ticker—is made up of the 100 largest “biblically aligned” companies in the United States.
Meanwhile, some asset managers are catching the conservative wave that is currently sweeping over corporate America. One expressly political conservative fund is the $87 million God Bless America ETF (YALL)—again, incredible ticker—which is for “god-fearing, flag-waving conservatives,” according to its website. These flag-wavers had a good year: The fund beat the S&P 500 in 2024.
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Many faith-based asset managers, such as GuideStone Funds, which has $24 billion in assets under management, are using their stakes in major companies to pressure them to end policies such as covering employee travel costs to get abortions. While these funds don’t hold large enough stakes in massive corporations to pull off a successful activist campaign, they can still mount public pressure to push them in the direction of the fund’s values.
Value investing
Investing based on personal values isn’t a new phenomenon. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, for example, swept the asset management world in 2021, before losing popularity among retail traders and institutional investors alike.
And Christian-based investing certainly isn’t the only form of faith-focused finance. There are forms of faith-based investing centered on other religions, such as halal investment screening.
A key job of financial advisors is to help clients invest in line with their values regardless of whether they fall into any specific ideology or religion. That could include screening out investments in countries with human rights abuses, or publicly traded companies that collaborated with the Nazis in World War II, for example.
The bottom line: Investing is personal for everyone, whether you’re looking at a company's labor policies or its balance sheet. Ultimately you must choose what’s best for your conscience—and your profits.—LB