Investing for Social Behavior

Remember the days when “investing” meant putting money into well-known assets like stocks, bonds, cash, real estate or equity shares and expecting a reasonable appreciation of capital, dividends, or interest earnings? At the Stewardship Foundation, it still is — with the additional peace of mind that your money or assets are working for the common good.

If you keep up with financial news, you may have noticed a bothersome trend…the investment world is becoming woke.

Net Zero and Carbon Neutral Concepts Net Zero Emissions Goals Weather neutral long-term strategy.

There are a growing number of investment firms encouraging their clients to “act responsibly” and this commission has even taken on its own acronym: ESG. 

E refers to environmental, S is for social, and Gstands for governance. ESG then refers to the criteria for evaluating corporate behavior when screening potential investments. What they must have in common is that they offer investments that support social, political or environmental issues.

ESG looks at the company’s environmental impact on the world, the social impact it has on populations and politics, and then the governance required to produce a social benefit. 

We can recall that after God created the world—the sky, day and night, living creatures on the land and in the sea and in the air—He said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27) “Not so fast” says the woke crowd, “who says God is a man, or that a man-God created another man first? What about the women? Maybe God is a she not a he, or maybe there’s no such thing as gender … just “parts” we are born with because God chose variety. That is, if there really is a God at all!

The Stewardship Foundation firmly believes that God exists, that he created man and woman for the purpose of procreation, that in the biblical story of the Parable of Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) we are taught that to those who are entrusted much, much is expected, and if you are a steward of man (we are) we must be good stewards with our donor’s money and increase our donor’s wealth for the good of all. If we create a better world at the same time, we give all the glory to God.

In short, ESG investing is aligning your investments with a set of world values. Morally responsible investing aligns your investments on biblical principles, which The Stewardship Foundation always has and continues to do.

The Three T’s of Philanthropy

Philanthropy is the desire to promote the welfare of others, as expressed by the donation of money. While “charity” solves short term problems of the needy, “philanthropy” solves long term needs. A popular acronym is “The Three Big T’s of Philanthropy” — Time, Talent, and Treasure. 

The 3 T’s promote the spiritual well-being of the individual giver and the financial and human needs of the poor.

The word steward first appeared in language during the Middle Ages as a “job description” — a steward, or manager, of a large household. Over time, it was used more broadly to describe management of others and activities outside the home, in business, courts of law, and organizations. Nowadays… 

A good steward builds good relationships with others in order to earn their loyalty.

You may recall the biblical story of the “good steward” in Mathew’s Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The story teaches us that to those who are entrusted with much, whether it be money, assets or non-financial riches, much is expected.

Stewardship has become more than the time, talent, and treasure of an individual, and today includes all of life: mind, body, and spirit, material possessions, friendships, relationships, and attitude about our ourselves and our place in the world and the responsibility this entails.

The acclaimed author C.S. Lewis once said: “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”

How can the Stewardship Foundation help you practice the “Three T’s of Philanthropy” to build a better world while at the same time building a safer financial future for you and your heirs? We advise; you choose. Call (614) 800-7985 for a conversation.

America’s Free Fall

In a May 2022 Gallup poll on Values and Beliefs, over 50% of Americans rated the overall state of moral values in the U.S. as poor and 37% as fair. That left only 13% of Americans with a rating of good, and 1% as excellent. This is Gallup’s worst rating ever on American Values and Beliefs!

Ethics, Honesty, Integrity, Respect: as illuminated in four incandescent light bulbs
Ethics, Honesty, Integrity, Respect

Proverbs 10:4 says, “Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.” God has designed us to work. Everything belongs to God, including the money we make. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, what you do for a living…Psalm 24:1 reminds us that “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belongs to the Lord.” Everything the Lord makes is good. It’s not about how much we have, it’s how well we serve God and others with it.

There’s a story told by Jesus Christ, the Parable of the Talents, in Matthew 25:14-30. This Parable serves as the backbone of the Stewardship Foundation and our guiding principle. It says that those who are entrusted with much, whether it be money, assets or non-financial riches, much is expected! Christ instructs us to “do something” with the riches we have — invest it, or share it – but never bury it.

As younger Americans stray from biblical truth to “find themselves” and older Americans reject the traditional biblical values that have defined Americans since our founding, they join a general population that no longer attends church services and is greatly influenced by what is seen and heard on the screens of millions of mobile devices. 

As the culture around us breaks down, our traditional moral values formerly based on the Word of God or moral tradition are ignored. Deciding that belief in God is not required to be a moral person, we become restless, self-centered, angry, immune to violence, and generally feel less safe.

Can we turn this loss of morality around? God made us, thus we are a reflection of our Creator. People can behave morally and not believe in God; we humans seem to know what’s good and want to do good things. This alone is because God does exist. 

Ranked #1 as the “most important problem with the state of moral values in the country today” was lack of consideration of others. However, personal accountability ranked near the bottom. An interesting, if not revealing, juxtaposition. 

As always, if we can provide guidance or advice to help you make make wise, moral decisions about your money, please give us a call at (614) 800-7985.