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.

Finding a Christian financial advisor isn’t always easy. How do you know where to look? What are you even supposed to be looking for? These questions plague people seaching for a faith-driven investor. Thankfully, Robert Netzly of Inspire Investing put together a great article with helpful advice on what to look for in a Christian financial advisor and how to find one.

by Robert Netzly

How do you find a Christian financial advisor? It can be a stressful process. Who can you trust to skillfully and wisely guide you through all of life’s financial twists and turns? What if you find a Christian financial advisor and they end up being the wrong pick? And what if you don’t realize they are the wrong advisor until it is too late? And for us Christians, are there biblical considerations that we should take into account to find a financial advisor?

Here are four qualities that Christian investors should demand when looking to find a financial advisor.

Find A Christian Financial Advisor Who Fears The Lord

If you want a financial advisor who has wisdom, then this is a non-negotiable. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”(Proverbs 9:10) If we are to believe the Bible, which we do, then this verse states very plainly that only those who fear the Lord can attain to wisdom. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and a certain financial advisor does not fear the Lord, then scripture says that financial advisor does not have wisdom.

But some may challenge this notion, asking, “Surely there are non-Christian financial advisors who give good advice, aren’t there?”

To answer that question, let’s start by assuming that the Bible is actually correct, which it is. Next, let us consider the definition of “wisdom”. Does wisdom mean making decisions or giving advice that has beneficial earthly outcomes, such as a high performing investment portfolio? Or is there a deeper, and more important element to wisdom that the Bible is referring to?

Consider another verse of scripture dealing with wisdom, “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’”(1 Corinthians 3:19-20) This verse makes clear that God has a different definition of wisdom than the world does — and importantly, His definition is the correct definition!

True wisdom has its roots in the fear of the Lord, and as such it always brings glory to God. Worldly “wisdom” has its roots in the cleverness of men, and as such never brings glory to God. We must recognize that there are decisions that the world would count as wise but that are complete foolishness to God. Conversely, there are decisions that God counts as wise, yet the world sees as abject folly.

Which decisions would you rather make?

Find A Christian Financial Advisor Who Operates With Excellence

But, that does not mean that all Christian financial advisors give wise advice.

That brings us to the second point. At the risk of sounding redundant, if a Christian investor is going to seek advice from a financial advisor, they should only seek advice from a Christian financial advisor. Always.

And they should also demand excellence from that Christian financial advisor, just as they would from any other professional advising them on the most important decisions in their life. Always.

Scripture warns believers about receiving advice from those who are not following after Christ:

“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)

We must remind ourselves that apart from Christ, “None is righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). Only by grace through faith in Christ can we escape our wicked, sinful, scoffing state of depravity. “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

The implication is that no matter how nice, talented or helpful an unbelieving financial advisor is, they have not had their minds, hearts and spirits renewed by faith in Christ, and as such their advice is inherently, spiritually flawed and the Bible warns us not to seek their guidance, not to “walk in their counsel”.

However, that does not mean that Christian investors should choose to work with just any Christian financial advisor. Putting a Jesus fish on a business card is not a free pass to deliver sub-standard performance. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

Christian professionals should be the hardest working, most trustworthy, devoted to excellence individuals in the marketplace. Christian investors should demand excellence in their search to find a Christian financial advisor.

Find A Christian Financial Advisor With Godly Character

Jesus said, “Each tree is known by its own fruit.”(Luke 6:44)

There are many people who may claim the name of “Christian”, yet their pattern of life does not give evidence of the Lordship of Christ. Put another way, there are many financial advisors who may claim the name of “Christian”, yet there is no “fruit” to give us confidence that they are born again followers of Christ.

Worse than that, there are also those who would masquerade under the Christian banner with the explicit purpose of defrauding Christian investors. Wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Before doing business with a Christian financial advisor, be sure to evaluate their character and pattern of life. Check character references from a pastor, ask them what church they attend and what ministries they serve or volunteer in.

Only God truly knows the heart, but the Bible exhorts us to be wise in our assessment of the people in our life, and especially those who we take advice from.

Find A Christian Financial Advisor Skilled In Biblically Responsible Investing

Finally, Christian investors should look for a Christian financial advisor who is skilled in biblically responsible investing (BRI).

BRI is the practice of aligning investment portfolios to support biblical values by excluding companies that are engaged in immoral activities, such as abortion or human trafficking, and instead seeking to invest in companies which are more closely aligned with God’s heart and operate as a blessing to the world.

Unfortunately, many Christian financial advisors do not have the resources or experience to deliver high quality, biblically responsible investing advice. Often this is no fault of the advisor, but rather a result of their firm not having a robust lineup of biblically responsible investing offerings. And sometimes the advisor may have the investments available for his or her use, but lack experience in managing a quality BRI portfolio that rivals or exceeds the results one would expect from a worthwhile investment.

Thankfully, there are a growing number of biblically responsible investing options becoming available to Christian financial advisors at firms across the nation. And there is also a growing knowledge bank of best practices, training, screening technology and other professional resources becoming available to equip Christian financial advisors to become proficient in providing biblically responsible investing services.

The largest multi-firm, nationwide membership network of Christian financial advisors dedicated specifically to advancing the BRI movement is Christian Wealth Management. Full disclosure, I am also the founder and CEO of Christian Wealth Management, so I might be a little biased in saying that www.ChristianWealthManagement.com could be a great place to start for investors looking to find a Christian financial advisor to provide them with sophisticated guidance from a biblical perspective. I recommend you visit the site and judge for yourself.

All For God’s Glory

There are many important considerations when choosing a financial advisor, and for Christian investors there are additional qualities in the areas of godly character, fear of the Lord, God-glorifying excellence and biblically responsible investing which must be examined. Find a Christian financial advisor who displays all of these traits, and you have found an advisor who is worth listening to.

Scripture compels us to live our entire lives for the glory of God, and the management of our finances (which ultimately belong to God) is no exception. Don’t settle for anything less.

Even wealthy people make mistakes. What we noticed about each of them, however, is that simply being aware of what they are makes it possible to prevent them from plaguing you. Bill High shares the seven mistakes with us, and we hope that taking the time to read through them will help you come up with solutions to avoid them.

by Bill High

Sometimes we hear of those with wealth and it’s hard to imagine them making a mistake. But Simone Foxman of Bloomberg surveyed family office leaders who identified key mistakes wealthy people make (and I’ve added one of my own):

GOVERNANCE

Avy Stein of Cresset Capital Management writes that family governance is a key miss.

Governance provides direction, structure, education, communication and a plan for resolving disputes.

And there will be disputes.  My own experience echoes this key principle.

DEFINING SUCCESS

Success is not just financial.  Portfolio success, notes Rich Henry of PNC Financial, is not the key driver.

Success can be measured in terms of values transfer and life goals.

CHARITABLE GIVING STRATEGY

Make money first, then give it away.

But the giving is often not tied to a strategy, says Kris Putnam-Walkerly of the Putnam Consulting Group.

From my vantage point, one of the real opportunities is for a family to identify the problems they can solve with their giving and then solutions to meet those needs.

THE TAX AVOIDANCE MIRAGE

Stephen Antion of Winston & Strawn correctly notes that the wealthy can make tax avoidance their idol. They end up with plans driven by taxes instead of the family and its values.

Even worse, tax avoidance can end up with questionable practices that could lead to problems later.

DETERMINING ADVISORS ON FEE ALONE

Stewart Kosmodel of UBS Group AG notes that some families become so obsessed with fee reduction that they end up with a bare-bones crew, but still worse, inefficiency.

In my own experience, I had one client so driven by cutting costs that he wouldn’t even turn over documents for review until the 11th hour. By then it was too late, and he had to pay the tax bill.

CYBERSECURITY RISK

As Elizabeth Glasgow of Venable LLP states, “The entire purpose, generally, of using a single family office is the privacy, the anonymity, the protection. So a successful cyberattack undermines the family office structure at a baseline level.”

Above are common mistakes wealthy people make in the family office context. Many are money mistakes that financial advisors with lots of experience and perspective can spot and fix. (Defining success would be one exception.)

But the mistake I’d like to add to this list is one that falls outside traditional financial planning, yet is vitally important to a family’s long-term success.

FAMILY COMMUNICATION

It’s shocking how much time and effort families will invest to grow financial wealth, and further, the great lengths that they will go to work on financial wealth transfer, but how little time they’ll spend on family communication.

The key to great wealth transfer is not the money—it’s all the other forms of wealth—intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual capital. That takes time, effort and lots of communication.

In my consulting work with families, I spend considerable time helping to increase understanding and effective communication between members of the family.

Understanding, accepting, and listening to one another—these are related to our values. But they’re also skills that help build the strong relationships necessary for a family to move forward together.

“Women will continue to find space and representation in a sector that not only speaks to them, but is helping them create the change they wish to bring to the world.”

Read this article from Talanton to discover statistics that show the rise of women entrepreneurs and women investors.

by Talanton

“Women control nearly 30% or $39.6 trillion of the world’s wealth and 51% and $14 trillion of personal wealth in the United States. By 2020, that amount is expected to rise to $22 trillion in the US alone and over the next two generations, women are expected to inherit 70% of transferable wealth.”[1]

Take a moment to let those numbers sink in.

Women, particularly millennial women, are also statistically more likely to become impact investors.[2] Popular reasoning for this is that women have different motivations when it comes to investing, and oftentimes are interested in investing through a gender lens. This makes sense given the predominantly male dominated venture capital, private equity, tech and start-up sectors.

According to Harvard Business Review enterprises owned by women in the formal sector represent almost 37% of businesses worldwide. This number continues to gain attention from policy makers, businesses and investors – and it should. It has been shown that for every dollar a woman in emerging markets makes, 90 cents get reinvested into her family and community in the way of education, nutrition, health etc. – a stark contrast to the 30-40 cents reinvested by men. [3]

Particularly of interest to Talanton, is an entrepreneur’s ability to create jobs in an employment hungry market. The World Bank has published that 600 million jobs are going to be needed in the developing world by 2030 to meet the needs of fast-growing urban populations, primarily in Africa and Asia. It is expected that 80% of those jobs will be created by small and medium enterprises. In the HBR report cited above, the women entrepreneurs surveyed employ one or more people, with the expectation that they will hire up to six more individuals over the next five years. In the US alone, more than half of the jobs created in the SME sector this year will have been created by women-owned enterprises.

Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, and throughout Europe and the US women entrepreneurs are showing higher levels of innovation than their male counterparts, offering new products and services and innovating in stagnant industries. A great example of this is the female hygiene product sector. With the rise of sustainability and a revitalized feminist movement, the sector has been flipped on its head by brands like Thinx[4] and Divacup[5] – to name two fast-becoming household brands among a much broader trend. Interestingly enough, ‘copycat’ brands have popped up within the last year in places like Brazil[6] and South Africa[7] (and with women at the helm like their American counterparts). The process of taking an innovation with a growing track record in places like Europe and the US, and adapting it to different, developing world contexts is happening faster than ever before. Both out of need and opportunity.

Whether you are a fund thinking about your fundraising strategy or evaluating your pipeline of investees – you can bet on one thing: women want to be involved from both a capital and an enterprise perspective. Women will continue to find space and representation in a sector that not only speaks to them, but is helping them create the change they wish to bring to the world.

[1] https://www.investopedia.com/advisor-network/articles/women-can-change-future-impact-investing/

[2]https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/16229/Impact%20Investing%20Report%20FINAL.pdf

[3] https://hbr.org/2013/09/global-rise-of-female-entrepreneurs

[4] https://www.shethinx.com/

[5] https://divacup.com/

[6] https://www.pantys.com.br/

[7] https://mpowercup.co.za/

Microfinance loans, which took off in the decades between 1980 and now have had a different effect than originally expected, but this does not mean failure. To the contrary, research into the effects of microcredit show that these loans opened up a previously unknown financial world to the poor. Though they were not a savior from poverty, they are tool in the fight against it.

For a period of time from the 1980s to the early 2000s, “microloans” were all the rage in international development. The idea was simple enough:

By giving a very small loan to someone living in a poor country, you could help them expand a small business, which would lift their family out of poverty. When they pay back the loan, the money can be cycled to more borrowers, getting more families out of poverty.

Organizations offering microcredit to poor borrowers – many living on $2 or less per day – took off in those decades. Investors and donors poured money into microcredit, hundreds of organizations offered loans, and the number of borrowers worldwide skyrocketed to 211 million by 2013.

The microcredit movement has been undeniably successful in opening up financial services to poor people across many countries. But what has its track record been when it comes to lifting people out of poverty?

Over the past decade, this question has occupied researchers, who have conducted randomized studies across a variety of countries and settings. The findings have not supported the original hope for microcredit: They can’t find evidence that the loans have been lifting families out of poverty on average. Many concluded that the classic conception of microcredit was based much more on anecdotes than on robust evidence. Those results have in turn cooled the development community’s enthusiasm for microcredit.

But does this mean that microcredit has been a failure? Hardly.

Read the full story at Vox.