by Benjamin J. Bailey

In my experience, most values- and ESG-oriented investors are generally familiar with the concept of shareholder advocacy, in which stock owners seek to influence company policies and practices.

Multiple fund families and other institutional owners often will come together and speak as one voice, raising the likelihood that a company’s management team and board of directors will listen and take action.

Fewer investors focused on values and environmental, social and governance factors consider the potential to elicit corporate change on the fixed-income side of their portfolio. Those who are aware of this potential may not know the role of green and other positive-impact bonds to further corporate progress.

And indeed, we see the purchase of positive-impact bonds as a primary avenue to affect real-world change. But in addition to purchases themselves, we regularly find other opportunities to pursue change by engaging with companies about fixed-income offerings. In these conversations, we ask additional questions that can spur change.

In fact, at Praxis we use the term “company engagement” as a broad way to refer to both shareholder advocacy and fixed-income engagement. To us, this recognizes the opportunity and responsibility to seek opportunities to engage with companies – regardless of the asset class in question.

Following are three examples of what company engagement can look like on the fixed-income side of the portfolio:

• Prompting companies to raise the quality and consistency of their ESG data disclosures.

  There are many ESG data providers, among which MSCI and Sustainalytics are leaders. When talking with company representatives before a new bond issuance or on company calls, we’ll often ask about the company’s ESG score or about interactions with ESG data providers. Sometimes, management will tell us the ESG data is wrong. When that’s the case, it’s often also true that the company hasn’t had meaningful interaction with the ESG data provider. MSCI tracks the frequency of interactions with each company. We encourage the company to interact with the largest ESG data providers to ensure their data is accurate. The result will be better data available to all ESG-oriented investors across asset classes. Here’s some very good news: Compared to five years ago, companies are far more cognizant of their ESG ratings, and they generally talk about their multiple interactions with the ESG rating agencies. The fact that less of this prodding is needed reflects its success.

• Asking about social factors.

  “Social bonds” are a growing component of the positive-impact bond space. Rather than just emphasizing green projects, social bonds relate to projects that promote positive impacts on employees, local communities or other people-related contexts. Companies like to highlight their social endeavors – whether related to a specific social bond or just general company policies – and this gives us an opportunity to ask questions. We may compliment a social factor strength – and ask tough questions about past controversies or current weaknesses.

• Raising concerns about greenwashing.

  “Voting with our dollars” – and avoiding certain issuances – is the main way we address bond issuances that, by our analysis, are labeled as “green” but aren’t convincingly so. An example was a bond issued to fund the purchase a second company that was a leader in using recycled materials within its main product … but the product itself was hardly green. We did not purchase the bond. We have also asked questions of investment bankers about green bond concerns. It’s been interesting to hear that they, too, are sometimes uncomfortable with labeling. We believe that as we and other institutional buyers express hesitation, bonds will improve and standards will be raised.

Many investors and clients haven’t even thought about the opportunity of fixed-income engagement. They may be pleased to hear that in our experience with engagement on the fixed-income side of the portfolio, companies listen and improvements can occur.

Article originally posted and shared with permission by Praxis Mutual Funds®. Praxis is dedicated to stewardship investing — a philosophy of financial decision-making that balances social and financial considerations and is motivated and informed by faith convictions. Through a suite of equity index funds and an actively managed Impact Bond fund, Praxis seeks to help investors make real-world impact.

Article originally posted here by coindesk

by Brady Dale

More or less decentralized? For Jimmy Song, there’s no in between.

An author and Bitcoin Fellow at venture firm Blockchain Capital, Song made that point repeatedly in a debate with IBM engineer and Hyperledger Fabric co-lead Chris Ferris at SXSW Thursday, where he told the crowd at the Hilton Austin in no uncertain terms: “You either have control over your stuff or you don’t. It’s a zero or a one.”

The debate pitted permissioned blockchains – the private networks being pitched to big business – against permissionless blockchains – the technology undergirding bitcoin and other open-source networks. Billed as a “deathmatch” on the festival agenda, Song was determined to give the audience what they came for.

“Why do you need permission if it’s supposed to be decentralized?” he asked. “There has to be an entity that’s giving you permission, and that’s by definition centralized.”

While Song took the binary view of decentralization, Ferris argued that blockchains can exist on a spectrum. Sure, permissioned blockchains are less decentralized, Ferris said, but their added trust mechanisms mitigate perceived risk.

“Permissionless blockchains do not necessarily solve the problem of trust,” he added.

Song wasn’t having it. To illustrate the degree to which he was willing to extend his point, Song used the example of the ethereum fork following the infamous hack of The DAO, when the project’s developers and users agreed to introduce a code update aimed at rolling back the stolen funds.

“I think Ethereum is a permissioned blockchain,” Song said, adding:

“When Vitalik says, ‘These particular transactions aren’t particularly good for the ecosystem so we’re going to roll them back,’ that, to me, is a permissioned blockchain.”

On stage and in conversation with CoinDesk beforehand, Song argued that every application of blockchain to anything but bitcoin is a waste. “Blockchain is really useful for bitcoin,” he said during the debate. “Everything else has a central point of failure.”

Prior to the debate, Ferris told CoinDesk that he hoped he could make the point that there’s just different use cases for different kinds of blockchains, and those use cases should determine what level of decentralization should be called for.

“Certainly part of the conversation will be that bitcoin doesn’t solve the same problems we are trying to solve in an enterprise context,” Ferris told CoinDesk.

IBM, he explained, is primarily building products that allow large enterprise partners to share information rather than exchange money. For example, today Big Blue announced a deal to record information about businesses’ legal status across France. Trying to find some common ground, Ferris argued there’s space for the approaches of both sides.

“I think there are a ton of use cases where permissioned blockchains make a ton of sense,” Ferris said. “I also think there’s a ton of use cases where a permissioned blockchain doesn’t make any sense.”

But Song didn’t come to accept concessions. He said all the blockchains besides bitcoin’s might as well just run on a faster, cheaper centralized database.

“A permissioned blockchain is an oxymoron because it’s a centralized database that’s masquerading as something decentralized,” Song said.

[Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash]

by Joel Morris

I was moved to write this white paper to help Christians develop a healthy theology of generosity. I wanted to address the ‘why?’ of giving. The motivation to give will determine if we will be happy or reluctant givers. Without addressing this issue, I would argue that we are robbing givers of the joy of giving and robbing the church of gospel resources.

Why should all Christians show profoundly more generosity more than those who haven’t tasted of salvation by grace through Jesus? The ‘why’ is usually always more important than the what. The drive behind the act. Why do people do incredibly generous and selfless acts? Why do people run into burning buildings to save others? If we examine our hearts on various areas of life with our Bibles open, I guarantee we will find it helpful and transformative.

The Biblical Case for Generosity

We can be generous in many ways. I’m only highlighting a few ways here in order to make application to everyday life, but I think that serving, giving money, giving time and talent, hospitality, food, stuff, and good works can all be bunched together under the theme of generosity – generosity overflowing from our life in Christ. It’s a heart response because we are recipients of such amazing grace. We didn’t save ourselves; we simply said yes to the greatest gift. Logic would then dictate that Christian generosity stand out from that of the ‘normal’ worldly generosity. In this sense we Christians should possess an unnatural and godly generosity. A cheerful, outrageous and extravagant generosity. This kind of happy generosity must be driven by love and not pity or even compassion. It isn’t a reluctant generosity. Christians aren’t to give grudgingly. If our motivation is to make ourselves feel better, then the motivation is self-centred even though it’s meant for someone else. Therefore, the generosity itself cannot be cheerful because we’re in essence trying to buy cheerfulness!

Christian generosity is to be a godly generosity, to be like that of our God. Yes, the unregenerate know how to give good gifts to their children, but how much more our heavenly Father who gives good gifts to his children! So, we who are his children share this overflowing generosity with our Father. We do to others what we would have them do to us. In fact, the Apostle Paul urges us to outdo each other in doing good to each other. How can any one of us actually live this out on a daily basis? How can we sustain this through our lives? It seems unobtainable to us.

We know from Mark’s Gospel, chapter 12, when Jesus answered the scribe’s greatest commandment question, He said:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

These are the greatest commandments in the Bible according to Jesus. Why are they the greatest? I think it’s because our good works flow out of firstly loving God, and because we love God, we can love others as ourselves and do good works for them. This is the overflow of gospel generosity. I know that this is the ministry philosophy used by many successful churches around the world. It is the roadmap for how we can possibly achieve the kind of profound generosity and our good works described here. Firstly, we must love the Lord our God with all that we are, then and only then can we love others as ourselves – not through a transaction, what we can get in return, but because we love God unreservedly. The Psalmist in Psalm 119 verse 32 declares:

“I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!”

We can keep the Lord’s commandments because we have a big heart for him; because we no longer have a selfish, self-centred stony heart. God figuratively gives us a heart of flesh that keeps growing in capacity for loving him and others.

The sad conversation Jesus had with the rich young man in Mark chapter 10 verse 17 shows that he loved his money and possessions more than the God he said he served. If he had loved God as he should, he would love others and the overflow would mean that he would be free to bless others and to give all that he had and follow Jesus. Instead, he went away from Jesus sorrowful. This is why truly generous giving is a healthy practice for Christians. It helps us to keep loving God first before our possessions. It helps keep our love pointing in the right direction to Jesus.

False Motives

God wants us to be happy people because He loves us. The Bible says that the only way we will be happy is through knowing and loving the God who lovingly made us to love him. The problem is that people search for happiness in countless places other than in enjoying their creator God.

God also wants us to be happy in our giving. He wants us to be cheerful givers – people who are happy to give and happy in their giving. I realise that we don’t naturally put the two things together! What many will associate with happiness is gaining more stuff for me and enjoying myself with the stuff. Pretending to be my own god. Getting and keeping the things desired and longed after, like that thing at the top of your Christmas list. We think, “if I could just get that house or car, it’ll make me so happy”. But, as I’m sure we all know deep down inside, it doesn’t ever last!

Giving in and of itself doesn’t make us happier people. If this were the case, generosity would be a transaction motivation – that we give to make ourselves happy. The more we give, the happier we will be? It might sound nonsensical. “I give to feel good. When I give, it’s a good thing to do. Aren’t I a good person?” This is obviously counter to the gospel and salvation of grace. Giving is not what satisfies ultimately. Christians are already satisfied before the act of giving. If giving generously was the thing that satisfied and made us happy, it would be a works-based gospel. We can’t work our way to heaven, so why do we think we can work our way to happiness? This is the kind of trap that people fall into, isn’t it? “Giving to the poor and needy makes me feel good. It’s the right thing to do. It’s what Jesus did and we have to as well.”

Another trap people fall into is giving to get. If we give generously over here, the Universe will somehow reward us. If this is our motivation or comfort to be generous, then our generosity is flawed. We can also be cajoled into giving through guilt. “If you don’t give to this most worthy of causes, then you are a truly terrible and selfish person.” Fundraising campaigns will show us pictures of needy people and pull on our heart strings to try and make us give. Please hear me right: I’m not saying not to give to needy people. The Bible tells us to give to the poor and needy generously and to look after the widows and orphans.

My point is this: Why should Christians be generous? We know that being generous with our possessions or time is a good thing, but why? Our motivations for giving can be guilt-driven or perhaps even us wanting to impress others. “Look how generous and a good person I am!” The feeling can give self-worth. You might write a cheque for a gospel cause to buy the freedom to do whatever you want with what’s left. Have we thought about charity like this? When I give, do I give reluctantly? Can I truly call myself a cheerful giver? This is such a massive battle for us sinners. What our hearts love is what we treasure and want to hold onto. What can change my heart so I give cheerfully and not reluctantly?

Hilarious Giving

We want to be cheerful in life don’t we? The world tells us to be happy we need to prioritise security for family and retirement, then perhaps think about maybe giving a little, somewhat reluctantly. There is a corrosiveness that erodes our hearts in riches held onto and loved. Of course there is, and it takes the place of our saviour Jesus. There is a happiness in giving money away. How do you get cheerful? God is a cheerful giver and never reluctant. This is a wonderful unchanging truth about God.

God loves a cheerful giver because He Himself is a cheerful giver. God loves Himself. God is a Father eternally loving His Son through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Son loving the Father back. It isn’t a self-obsessed love but a giving, outflowing and generous love. Flowing from the Father who sent out His only beloved Son to pour out His all on the cross for us. Generosity is at the core of the Christian life and our experience of God. God doesn’t give sparingly; He gives us abundantly more than we can ask or think. We become cheerful in our giving by giving like God, where His grace has been working in our hearts to abound in generosity to others. This verse below is some challenging teaching from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church on how people should give to support gospel work.

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. – 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

The origin of cheerful comes from the Greek word ‘hilaros’ which is where we get the English word hilarious. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines the usage as joyous, cheerful, not grudging. It describes someone who has already been won over, convinced and ready to act cheerfully.  We decide in our hearts what we give, why, and to whom we give. It is God who gives us the grace to be able to have increasingly large good works like giving generously. We need supernatural grace from God, it is not in our natural capacity. Verse 11 says that we will be enriched to be generous in every way, not to hold onto it for our own safety and comfort.

It is God who supplies seed to the sower and provides harvest in the fields for us all to live. Paul says that God will multiply what we happily give and it will be like sowing for the gospel. Verse 10 centres around support for gospel ministry and the reaping will be for his kingdom. Our reward then will be tangible, but not here and now, in heaven stored up for us. The best kind of return we could ever want! We are enriched in grace to be generous in every way. Paul says it isn’t only supplying the needs of the saints, but overflowing in our thanksgiving to God – as He has been overflowing to us. In giving to support gospel work we are joining with the sower to cheerfully sow bountifully so that the harvest will be cheerful and bountiful. So, we see that generosity is a gospel issue. This is important for us to understand in the connection between giving and supporting God’s mission.

As you read this paper, use the opportunity for self-examination and reflection. Writing this short piece has challenged me in questioning “is my heart right? Am I generous enough? Are my motivations to give godly?” Lay your heart open before God. Let Him work in you as He desires you to be conformed to Jesus. Allow the Holy Spirit to change you to become more and more like our generous, life-giving God.

by Justin Forman, Executive Director, Faith Driven Investor and Faith Driven Entrepreneur

What I Learned From Senior Year History Class

Chess champ. History nerd.

For more than a few decades I’ve been able to keep these achievements and interests unpublished on my LinkedIn Profile and Instagram Account.

But in the spirit of “leading with a limp”, I thought now was the time to come forward with full transparency. In seventh grade, my teacher, who apparently watched some Hollywood movie and dreamed of discovering a local version of the next Bobby Fischer, bought my entry fee into a school chess tournament.

After beating a dozen upperclassmen, I earned the dubious honor of being handed an obnoxiously tall trophy during a school-wide assembly the following week.

In between playing basketball and soccer, I was also that feisty freshman who quietly found his way from the courts and pitch to sitting in senior history class. It was there, in what too often is a throwaway class taught by the head football coach, I found something that captured my heart.

For an hour a day, I was held captive. I found myself entranced by long-ago and well-worn stories of political intrigue, catastrophic events, and questionable decision-making. For a kid who wasn’t even old enough to drive, much less know about this dusty subject matter, it all seemed so new and relevant.

Fast forward three decades later and I’d argue that senior history class is up for a rebrand.

Too often it seems like history is viewed as a crazy, underappreciated, less successful cousin of a math class.

We’re learning a set of facts—dates, places, and names to remember lest they be repeated. And yet, it’s so much more than that.

As the History Channel boldly claims:,

“These are … the stories of our world … the story of us.”

Storming Normandy or Leaving Dunkirk?

World War II-era stories for some reason strike such a chord with me.

That time in the world seemed like it was defined by a season with little room for complacency. Everyone engaged, choosing sides. Risking and re-risking everything, everyday.

Most of us have seen the epic major motion picture  “Saving Private Ryan.” Not just a movie, but I would argue a masterclass bringing the gruesome and harrowing story of taking the hallowed beaches of Normandy to the big screen.

But fewer of us perhaps have appreciated the quiet significance of a more recent film, “Dunkirk.”

The Dunkirk Evacuation involved a last-minute rescue of over 300,000 Allied soldiers who were trapped by the Nazis near the beaches of Dunkirk, France, in the summer of 1940.

Saving hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the beaches in a costly battle trying to escape… the perspective of trying to hold on a little longer to what will certainly be lost… so a few more might make it across.

For me, this movie was a stark reminder of the grounding leadership principle: define the situation and strategy before getting to tactics.

When I think of the conversations around Faith Driven Entrepreneurship and Faith Driven Investing I often wonder what situation we are in?

Are we trying to take the beach of Normandy and advance on an empire of evil to make way for a new world?

Or are we fighting a measured, intentional retreat, holding a perimeter of hope that might allow for others to be saved?

A Tough Forecast

I’ll admit, I’m confused. I wonder if the apostles and the early church felt the same? Did they think they were going to see 2,000 more years before Christ’s return? Or did they think—amidst martyrdom in the colosseum—that Christ’s return is imminent.

Surely the world must have felt pretty dark.

Rampant sexual immorality. An empire on financial collapse. A persecution of the church not in a distant realm of social media, but regular death and destruction right in front of them. With stakes and fire, lions and wolves tearing at brothers and sisters, it must have been heartwrenching.

I don’t know about you, but that history seems to be repeating itself. And today, it seems less like we’re storming an enemy.

It sure feels a lot more like Dunkirk.

We find ourselves stuck and surrounded. Scraping along the bottom of morality, war, bribery, and instability. Courts, Congress, and businesses being weaponized as accomplices. It’s a tough forecast.

Grounded in Identity

Earlier this summer I had the chance to spend a few weeks in Israel. We were capturing the story of an Arab, Palestinian, Israeli Faith Driven Entrepreneur.

Identity is a simple yet complex thing in Nazareth.

I was struck by one of the things we talked about at lunch …

“If you truly understand that your identity starts with being a child of the king. Then you’re grounded in the idea that this land, or any land for that matter, is not your home. And if you’re just passing through, then why fight so much over the land?”

Powerful truths spoken in the same land where Jesus first tread. The word Sojourner has never become more alive than in that moment. If so little can be made of something that has been fought over for so long, then what are we fighting to protect?

Our nationality, land, car, home, title, social media, or bank account. That big merger, client acquisition. Everything is actually worth a whole lot less than we make it when we consider the enormity and eternity of God and his kingdom.

As God is granting favor, as he is opening up doors for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs and Investors around the globe to do incredible things for his glory, let’s stay grounded while still lifting our eyes up to the heavens..

He gives us gifts. God answers our prayers. He provides pools of clear, quenching water in  the desert.

But as much as we celebrate. Let’s also be reminded that what we produce are nothing more than makeshift forts. They’re cobbled together by piers and beams to make temporary safe harbors.

And yet, what we are building together with God just might hold out just long enough to bring more to the other side.