What if the companies in your portfolio are working against the values you’re trying to live by?
For Christians, investing is about more than pursuing financial returns. Like every other financial decision, investing can be viewed through the lens of stewardship—asking not only, “How is my money growing?” but also, “What is my money supporting?”
Faith-based investing seeks to bring those questions together.
Brian Mumbert, president of Timothy Plan, joined the show today to explain how faith-based investing works, what research suggests about performance, and how Christians can begin aligning their portfolios with biblical values.
What Is Faith-Based Investing?
Faith-based investing shares many objectives with conventional investing: building a diversified portfolio designed for long-term growth while managing risk appropriately.
The difference is that it adds another consideration—a values-based screen.
For Timothy Plan, that means avoiding companies that profit from or promote activities the fund family believes conflict with biblical principles. Examples may include abortion, pornography, gambling, and businesses that profit from activities that can exploit addiction or vulnerable people.
At the same time, faith-based investors can seek companies producing goods and services that contribute positively to society.
Importantly, biblical screening does not replace traditional investment analysis. Financial fundamentals still matter.
“The screening comes before the portfolio construction,” Mumbert explained.
The goal is to combine disciplined financial analysis with biblical convictions so investors can pursue competitive returns without unnecessarily separating their financial decisions from their faith.
Does Screening Companies Hurt Investment Performance?
One common concern about faith-based investing is that eliminating certain companies or industries will automatically lead to lower returns.
According to Mumbert, research does not support the idea that values-based investing necessarily requires investors to accept a persistent performance penalty. He points to independent studies examining faith-based and values-aligned investment strategies, some of which have found comparable performance and, in certain cases, favorable risk-adjusted results.
Screening can also remove companies facing significant social, reputational, or regulatory risks.
Of course, no screening methodology guarantees better investment results, and past performance never guarantees future returns. Faith-based investors still need to evaluate expenses, diversification, risk, time horizon, and the quality of the underlying investment strategy.
The larger point is that investors do not necessarily have to choose between financial discipline and biblical alignment.
Looking Beneath the Surface
Knowing what a company truly supports can be more complicated than simply looking at its primary business.
A company may appear acceptable based on the products it sells while supporting other activities through corporate policies, charitable contributions, partnerships, or business practices.
That makes research an important part of faith-based investing.
Timothy Plan has developed a proprietary screening process over more than three decades. Its research examines both what companies profit from and what they promote at the corporate level.
The process also relies on third-party information, and companies are reviewed periodically because corporate practices can change.
That ongoing evaluation is important. A company that meets a particular screen today may change its policies, business lines, or priorities
