Let’s go deeper into how BRI portfolios are created. A common misconception is that we can only invest in Christian mutual funds or Christian companies. Although there are some great faith-centered funds and companies that we invest in, it’s not the core of what our clients are invested in. We take the entire universe of stocks, bonds and mutual funds and run them through software which applies specific screens or filters. Those screens filter out things like abortion, pornography, tobacco, anti-family entertainment and more. We then look to understand why those investments are failing for those particular categories. For instance, if a stock is flagged for abortion, we look to see why they are failing for abortion. A company can fail the screening process if they are creating products or medicine to help facilitate abortions, or if they are heavy contributors and influencers of helping to promote pro-abortion legislation. Major online retailers can be known for distributing adult content but some may also be creating content for that industry. There are obvious companies like in the tobacco industry that you would assume would fail our screens but there are many companies that would surprise you. The bigger the company gets, the more they expand into different subsidiaries that are involved in all kinds of industries. There are also some companies that stick to their core product or services as they grow but are voracious contributors and core supporters of organizations violating biblical values. These are the leaves that we are pruning. It’s also extremely important to monitor these investments on a regular basis to make sure they haven’t changed in a matter to fail our criteria. We also utilize third-party research on companies in addition to keeping an eye on headlines for any changes or violations.
I have a strong passion for this investment process and love sharing it with others. I provide my clients not only with the information they need to understand the process, but also provide access to God-friendly portfolios. It has been rewarding to see the relief our clients have in that we’ve done the work to remove the leaves from their portfolios The same way that removing the leaves off my fig tree allowed the fruit to ripen, pruning my personal investments has opened the door for more Godly fruit.
(BRI can also be referred to as conservative values investing)