GuideStone Chief Investment Officer Will Lofland explains how he helps investors align their finances with their faith in the ‘Big Money Show.’
People are aligning their values with their finances through faith-based investing and, according to one expert, this strategy rivals ESG.
A spokesperson for the Christian financial services company explained why investors are flocking to the strategy on “The Big Money Show” on Wednesday.
“With the growth of ESG, we’ve seen a similar growth of investors considering their values as it relates to their faith,” pointed out Will Lofland of Guidestone. “Over the last three years, that’s where we’ve seen the most critical growth.”
Investment distribution director Guidestone explained there is a backlash to ESG growth [Environmental, Social, and Governance] – and, although his company has been around since the 1970s, he has noticed a recent spike in faith-based investments.
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“Honestly, during the covid time period, people, I think, have started to live their lives more intentionally and have discovered that things like this exist more in line with what they think about, than something that was maybe -be the product of the day like esg.
He noted how, through Guidestone, faith-based investing is brought to people who want to invest through their Christian values.
When it comes to tackling ESG policies, Lofland explained how the capital management firm works to encourage other companies to focus on their core business areas.
“There are Christian principles that we want to adhere to,” he said. “But we want to try to bring these companies that are secular entities and help them understand that these are business principles, whether it’s how they treat their employees, the products and goods that they bring to market , and honestly, that they are enacting policies that do not act as an affront to their consumers or employees.
Lofland also highlighted observations about investor ages as it relates to faith-based strategy.
“Statistically speaking, the people who were early adopters of this, the people who are starting to adopt it more now, tend to be a younger generation,” he noted. “But we’re now seeing more emergence among baby boomers, people who historically have more wealth embracing concepts like this.”
He explained that the strategies “depend on the areas of the spectrum”, noting that the older demographic tends to restrict businesses compared to that of younger generations who have become more accepting of companies whose products benefit society.
The GuideStone chief also weighed in on concerns that many companies are not pursuing policies that resonate with consumers and investors.
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“That’s really honestly what we’re trying to advance to businesses is help them understand that there might be a voice on the other side of the issue,” Lofland said. “It’s a very material voice, and it’s a big voice and bringing them back to understand that.”
He reiterated how businesses should approach policies and focus on principles.
“If you want to be a retailer, be the best retailer you can be, bringing goods and services to your customers at a reasonable price and the types of goods they want to buy.” Lofland continued, suggesting that businesses should “not embrace social change” but focus on its purpose.
“This is what we want businesses to return to,” he concluded.
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