Faith Driven Investor

David Wills is revolutionizing charitable giving by leveraging the power of investment and donor advised funds. He has spent his career helping donors navigate the legal world of giving and now serves as President Emeritus of the National Christian Foundation. In this episode of the Faith Driven Investor Podcast, David discusses the changing landscape of charitable giving and what it means to use your capital and influence for God’s Kingdom.

Keren Pybus is the Co-founder of Ethical Apparel Africa, an impact-driven company based in Ghana and Benin. Ethical Apparel Africa was founded based on the core belief that all manufacturing can and should be done ethically. And they work with international brands who are interested in growing a manufacturing base in Africa with a positive social and environmental impact. Keren joins us on the Faith Driven investor Podcast to discuss the importance of leading a company that is committed to more than just looking good.

Once a month, we take a look back at what God is doing in the world of Faith Driven Investing and the global markets. We also spend time looking at current trends and outlooks with great interest and discernment in hopes to identify God’s redemptive work in the world. Bob Doll, Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global, and David Spika, who leads the GuideStone Investments Line of Business, have both served as guests and contributors to media outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Moneywise, and Fox Business News. They join us for a look at market activity from July 2022. This is Marks on the Markets.

John and Ashely Marsh have dedicated themselves to the resurrection of place in the historic downtown of Opelika, Alabama. Like many small mill towns around the country, Opelika’s main street had deteriorated to a state of hopelessness and disrepair. One historic house in 1998 began a 20-year journey of redeeming a city. Today, their work of restoring over 150 properties and launching 40 small businesses in those 10 square blocks has become the gold standard for small-town revitalization in the state of Alabama. Opelika’s story, an account of beauty from brokenness, mirrors John and Ashley’s personal story. They share more about a new class of community.

Ben Erskine and Matt Miglarese join us on the Faith Driven Investor Podcast to discuss a concept that is gaining momentum: The Flywheel Effect of Spiritual Integration. But more than just a philosophy to discuss, Faith Driven Investors are deploying capital into real estate assets with operating partners that have a model for spiritual integration. Ben, a managing partner at Callis, and Matt, an advisor and consultant for faith driven investors, business leaders, and impact organizations, will explain how owners and operators of real estate have an opportunity to faithfully steward the properties and businesses that they have been entrusted with well. And they can do so while also achieving superior results in the marketplace. Sit back and enjoy the conversation.

Once a month, we take a look back at what God is doing in the world of Faith Driven Investing and the global markets. We also spend time looking at current trends and outlooks with great interest and discernment in hopes to identify God’s redemptive work in the world. Tune in as Matt Monson of Sovereign’s Capital, Daniel Phillips of EverSource Wealth Advisors, and Ross Roggensack of Oak City Consulting push the conversation forward about faith, investment philosophy, and the frontiers where innovation is happening. This is Marks on the Markets for June 2022.

Chip Mahan has built his career revolutionizing the banking industry. He founded and currently serves as CEO and chairman of Live Oak Bankshares, headquartered in Wilmington, NC. Its commercial banking subsidiary, Live Oak Bank, specializes in providing lending and deposit services to small businesses nationwide. Chip joins us on the Faith Driven Investor Podcast to talk more about investing in technology that helps banks of all sizes innovate and cut through the red tape.

Jason Syversen, CEO of Sports Visio, is a tech entrepreneur, investor, board member, and philanthropist. He also has a passion for making a difference in the world through tech, startups, creating value, and giving back. Jason has been quoted and featured in the New York Times, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, and other media outlets. He founded Siege Technologies, serving as CEO for 10 years, and has been involved in more than 27 investments and counting. What does it take to love people while supporting free enterprise? Jason explains on the Faith Driven Investor Podcast.

Curt Laird is one of the most experienced foreign investors in frontier markets. Having worked in over 30 countries, he spent 14 years in Afghanistan, where he was a founding executive director of Roshan, Afghanistan’s largest mobile phone operator. He launched his own 50-employee training company. And he founded the Business Innovation Hub, a business accelerator at the American University of Afghanistan. Curt is the author of “The Culture Key,” a book many believe to be the go-to resource for successful investing and entrepreneurship in frontier and emerging markets.

Richard is a co-Founder and partner at Sango Capital. Sango is the preferred partner for global institutional investors looking for attractive, risk-adjusted and high impact returns in Africa.Previously, Richard was a partner at Bridgewater Associates, a US$150 billion global hedge fund. He shares his story and provides insights about the investment landscape and rising opportunities in Africa.

Once a month, we take a look back at what God is doing in the world of Faith Driven Investing and the global markets. We also spend time looking at current trends and outlooks with great interest and discernment in hopes to identify God’s redemptive work in the world. Tune in as investment professionals push the conversation forward about faith, investment philosophy, and the frontiers where innovation is happening. This is Marks on the Markets for May 2022.

Jimmy Wright is co-founder and President of Launch Capital Partners, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Growing out of years of conversation about business, ministry, and the Christian life, Launch Capital was founded as a viable marketplace response to ministry opportunities presented by the global migration crisis. We talk to Jimmy about ways Christ-following investors can direct capital into the marketplace and work towards establishing redemptive real estate.

Allison Long Pettine is an investor and entrepreneur passionate about supporting leaders who strive to positively impact society. Allison’s approach to investing is built on respect, collaboration and partnership. Because she began her career as one of the first employees of a medical device startup, Allison’s perspective on investing goes beyond simply financial risk and return. She brings over 15 years of venture capital experience to each new venture, taking an active role in her investments, from co-founder to serving on boards. We’re excited to learn more from Allison on the Faith Driven Investor Podcast as she talks about increasing the success rate of entrepreneurs.

Dr. Michael J. Rhodes is a Lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College in New Zealand. He is a Teaching Elder in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and serves as an assistant pastor at Downtown Church in Memphis. Michael co-authored a book on economic discipleship, “Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give” with Robby Holt and Brian Fikkert. He joins us today to share more of the story.

On today’s podcast we have the joy and privilege to hear from an investor and entrepreneur team that met via the Faith Driven Marketplace. Investor Tom Lernihan was moved by the mission and simple solution of the company Pureflow founded and led by Jared Fulks and Collin Wenrich. After traveling around the world to Uganda, Collin had a revelation as his calling zipped past him on the road in the form of a motorcycle… also known as a boda. Anyone who has visited this part of the world knows that motorcycles are the one primary way to get around. In fact, being a “Boda Boda” driver is one of the fastest growing occupations in East Africa–home to more than 1 million motorcycle drivers. However, after further research, Collin discovered that less than 20% of all these drivers actually own their motorcycles. And so began Pureflow. After investing a few thousand dollars of his own money and striking up a deal with only 6 boda boda drivers, Collin went pedal to the metal. Since launching Pureflow and partnering with Tom, Pureflow has grown to more than 100 drivers and counting. Together Collin, Jared and Tom share why they do and how they continue to grow without outscaling their culture, purpose and impact.

Neil Holzapfel started investing in public companies in Africa and the Middle East. And yet, his heart was for more. He co-founded Raise the Children, a non-profit unlocking the potential of South African orphans to become servant leaders by investing in high quality secondary education and mentorship. Neil joins us today to talk about investing and creating from a place of pain, his journey as an investor and why he and his wife are so passionate about education and mentorship.

John Coleman is Managing Partner of Sovereign’s Capital. He is also a frequent writer and public speaker, with a recurring series of articles at Forbes and HBR. John previously published two books. His third book, “The HBR Guide to Crafting Your Purpose”, was published in January of 2022. John is going to be co-hosting the Faith Driven Investor Podcast. Before he does, we wanted to sit down with him and talk more about what it takes to craft your purpose.

Johan du Preez’s career is defined by ambitious initiatives and big results. He says,“Capital always has an agenda. Whether by design or default, explicit or subtle, positive or negative, the application of capital facilitates and drives a bigger agenda.” Find out how this philosophy guides him to invest in partnerships that benefit the Kingdom, not just the marketplace.

Robert Netzly is a globally recognized authority in the Biblically Responsible Investing movement and author of the Amazon #1 best-selling book "Biblically Responsible Investing". He is the Founder and CEO of Inspire Investing, a leading innovator in providing low cost, high impact, biblically responsible investing solutions to institutions, advisors, and investors. Robert is a frequent contributor on FOX Business, Bloomberg, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Christian Post and other major global media for his thought leadership in the faith-based, environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing marketplace. Today, Robert joins us to talk about key aspects of Biblically responsible investing, what it means to be an active and engaged shareholder, and how your faith is reflected in the way we shepherd our capital.

David Ridley knows a thing or two about real estate investing. Not only did he found and lead Invesco Real Estate for 27 years, but he also helped grow it into one of the largest and most diversified real estate investment firms in the world. And while the numbers are staggering, what is most impressive about David was his steadfast leadership. Learn more about building a resilient team in a world of constant disruption, what it takes to be salt and light in a big company, and what hope we have for the future.

David McAlvany is the CEO of the McAlvany Financial Companies – International Collectors Associates and McAlvany Wealth Management. He is a featured speaker on national television and radio programs including CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business News, and Bloomberg where he analyzes major events and their impact on the global economy and financial markets. David shares his story, discusses the importance of precious metals and reserves, and explains how Faith Driven Investors should think about these assets.

HOPE International was founded in Ukraine 25 years ago. Since then, they’ve invested in the dreams of thousands of Ukrainian entrepreneurs and farmers. They’ve seen families work their way out of poverty and lives changed by the Gospel. HOPE International President and CEO, Peter Greer, joins us today to invite the global community of Faith Driven Entrepreneurs and Investors to take action in a real, meaningful, and lasting way.

Patrick Fisher founded Creation Investments in 2007, leaving JPMorgan with a vision to find profitable solutions to difficult social and environmental challenges. As President and Chairman of the Board of Creation Investments Social Ventures Fund I, Patrick oversees a $32 million private equity investment fund that invests in microfinance and social ventures. This focus supports international development, poverty eradication, and wealth creation.

Tom Darden is founder and CEO of Cherokee, a private equity fund which focuses on financial, environmental, and social returns for investors and communities. Cherokee has raised over $2.2 billion in five institutional private equity funds, and invested this capital in the acquisition, cleanup, development, and sale of approximately 550 environmentally contaminated real estate assets in the US, Europe and Canada. Since the 1980’s Tom has invested in over 100 companies using a “no exit” philosophy. Tom shares more about the benefits of investing for the long haul.

If you haven’t yet watched The Chosen, we would highly recommend putting it at the top of your to-binge list. It’s an amazing narrative of the life of Jesus that has enjoyed significant popularity. Dallas Jenkins is the creator, director and co-writer of The Chosen, which in addition to being the first multi-season series about the life of Christ is also the most successful media crowdfund of all time.

Filmmaker Jon Erwin has worked his way from operating cameras at sporting events to producing a major motion picture about a sports legend. His move from the sidelines to the studios has been earned through hard work and perseverance. It has also come by way of Jon’s strong desire to draw people to the hope and the truth of the Gospel. On the Faith Driven Investor Podcast, Jon shares about the early days of his career. He also talks about the making of “American Underdog,” how it came to the big screen, and why he believes in the power of strong stories that positively influence culture.

Brett Johnson founded The Institute for Innovation, Integration & Impact, Inc. in 1996. His writings complement the work of this Silicon Valley think tank. Brett’s most recent book, Kingdom Economics, is an invitation to the faith driven investor who loves the nations and the planet too much to leave their money stuck where it grows but does not change the world for good.

Building and running a fund in a way that also promotes human flourishing? This opens doors to sharing about the incredible redemptive mission of God that drives us as Faith Driven Investors. Finny Kuruvilla—Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at Eventide— unpacks how our investments can serve the greater good. Recorded without interruption at our 2021 Faith Driven Investor Conference.

Jonathan Reckford is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. Before joining Habitat, Jonathan spent most of his career in leadership positions at Goldman Sachs, Marriott, The Walt Disney Co., and Best Buy. Since joining Habitat in 2005, Jonathan has grown Habitat from serving 125,000 individuals each year to helping more than seven million people annually. It’s no surprise why he was named the most influential nonprofit leader in America in 2017. Today, he serves on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum. Jonathan joins us today to share some of his story, what God is doing in and through Habitat, leadership lessons he’s learned in his career, and what it means to serve God at scale.

“How are we using the platform that God has given us to influence decision-makers and our communities to do good?” This is the question that drives Tsitsi Masiyiwa. One answer is by utilizing catalytic capital—a patient, flexible, risk-tolerant form of financing. Sometimes it accepts lower returns to accommodate the economics of high-impact organizations that are profitable but not profit-maximizing, whether due to an early stage of business development, tough markets, or a focus on impoverished populations. Tsitsi draws on her years of experience in philanthropy and as a social entrepreneur to share how Faith Driven Investors can leverage their capital to solve global challenges.

Andy Crouch, best-selling author and a partner of theology and culture at Praxis, is a leading voice in the Faith Driven movement. Andy spoke at a recent Faith Driven Investor Conference on a topic that many faith driven investors are wrestling with regularly: God and money, we cannot serve both. How do we balance out Jesus’ teaching and our calling as Faith Driven Investors? Listen to what Andy had to say for some insights and inspiration.

Today we’re joined by Mary Naber King of Sage Stone Wealth. Mary has spent her entire career in the financial services industry including serving as an SVP and Advisor at Merrill Lynch. Mary’s expertise in the field of ethical investing is highlighted in over half a dozen books and multiple magazines. She joins us today to share her story of finding faith driven investing at Harvard and discuss the value proposition of faith driven investing. Tune in!

Bitcoin is no longer a bit-player investment. According to Matt Jennings, faith driven investors should be investing in digital assets like cryptocurrency. And just who is Matt Jennings? He is the head of Kingdom Trust which is currently custodian to $20 billion in assets from some 150,000 investors. Learn more from this pioneer in the financial industry and thought-leader in alternative and digital assets.

David Platt serves as Lead Pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical and author of books like Radical… Something Needs To Change and Counter Culture. Today David joins us to talk about what it means to be radically generous and how the world might look if faith driven investors and entrepreneurs stepped into this great opportunity.

Today’s episode takes us all the way to South Africa, and we couldn’t be more excited about it. And the question we’re going to start by asking is this: How can a garbage-collection company in South Africa undo the legacy of Apartheid? Bertie Lourens, CEO of WastePlan is here to share how their company is working to divert the vast majority of customers’ waste-stream from landfills and converting it into valuable, recyclable resources. They do this by employing hundreds of local workers, caring for their families, and investing in local schools to educate the next generation of South African leaders. And, as Bertie shares today, stewarding God’s creation has now grown into giving God a majority ownership stake in the company. Listen in to find out how...

In 1976, 23-year-old David Weekley started his own home building company. Now more than 40 years later, the company has sold more than 100,000 homes, expanded to 19 cities across the nation, and won countless awards. In addition, David and his family launched a charitable Foundation to impact the world through both Christ-centered and secular organizations. David joins us to share the story of starting one of the most successful home building companies in the country and how their foundation is changing the lives of thousands around the world.

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them. Randy is also a New York Times bestselling author. He has written over 55 books including Courageous... Heaven… and The Treasure Principle. His books have been translated into over 70 languages and have sold over 11 million copies. Prior to launching EPM, Randy co-pastored for fourteen years Good Shepherd Community Church in Oregon. He is a well recognized voice in the faith driven investing community and today is sharing more about the treasure principle and what it means to invest in eternity.

Cathie Wood is the founder and CIO/CEO of ARK Invest. She believes that ARK can identify large-scale investment opportunities in the public markets resulting from technological innovations centered around DNA sequencing, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology. Basically, she’s a rockstar and the queen of innovative investing. Today, she’s going to talk about how she developed ARK’s investment philosophy, what her role as Founder, CEO, and CIO entails today, and how her faith influences it all.

Convinced that Christians would better handle their personal finances if they were counseled objectively with the highest technical expertise and from a Biblical perspective, Ron Blue founded a financial planning firm in 1979. Today that firm manages over $2 billion in assets for more than 5,000 clients nationwide. Ron joins us to discuss why he thinks stewardship is just as much about investing as it is giving.

What a thrill it must be to get a call from Jerry Jones and be told you’re going to get to play professional football with the Dallas Cowboys. That was the case for Jaylon Smith in 2017. Even at a young age Jaylon was noticed for his athleticism and talent, being named “Mr. Football” in the state of Indiana and then winning the spot as Linebacker his Freshman year at Notre Dame. Jaylon joins us today to talk about how he overcame what could have been a career ending injury and what he’s doing off the gridiron to inspire change and invest in the next generation of rising entrepreneurs.

Obie McKenzie is the Vice-Chairman of Cordiant Capital and has served at some of the largest financial institutions like BlackRock, and managed hundreds of millions in assets. Obie joins us to talk about what it's like living out your faith in the public square and the basic principles of Bible Economics.

Founding Pastor of Redeemer in NYC, Tim Keller, unpacks the hidden truth of identity formation, its habits and rituals, in both the Western and greater world. We are fed these belief systems from the moment we breathe and too often we are defined by the greater world without our consent. He steps us through examples of how our thinking is specifically impacted by these external forces that define us outside of the context of Christ. Tim shares with us the cultural problems of both traditional (your community defines you) and modern (you define you) identity formation and shows why the gospel is the only solution to living an authentic, impactful life.

In 1969, Tom Kehler was hunched over a Model 33 Teletype connected to an IBM mainframe developing a program to learn a function from data. Today, he’s here to talk about the future of artificial intelligence. A lot has happened in the in between decades, both in society and in Tom’s life in Silicon Valley. As the CEO of CrowdSmart, a business using AI & Collective Intelligence software platform to improve the accuracy of predicting investment success while reducing ingrained bias, he’s seen it all. Tune in and hear where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going...

Faithful listeners of the show might recognize the voice of Tim Macready on today’s episode. Today, he’s going to talk to us about a topic we haven’t really covered yet—investing with environmental care in mind. Tim took us from the Garden of Eden to Narnia to Middle Earth and explained why the creative vision that created all of these places focuses on the beauty within them, and how it’s our responsibility as image bearers of God to take care of what we’ve been given to cultivate and care for.His work as CIO of Brightlight has given him a unique platform to lead this conversation, and we can’t wait for you to hear the investing opportunities he’s seeing that have environmental stewardship at the forefront.

In 1998, Mart Green took a transformational trip to Guatemala that changed the way he thought about return on investment. Since then, he has been involved in Bible translation and distribution efforts from the launch of the YouVersion Bible app to the establishment of a collaborative partnership among 10 of the world’s largest Bible translation organizations, called illumiNations. In today’s conversation, Mart shares where his passion for Bible translation started, the encouraging steps he’s seen in the effort to eliminate Bible poverty, and the power of what happens when competitors become collaborators.

If you’re involved in Private Equity, you simply have to listen to today’s guest. And if you’re not involved in Private Equity, well, you’re still going to want to listen to Brent Beshore because in addition to taking an alternative approach to private equity, he’s an all around interesting person. When it comes to PE, Brent doesn't want to replace the founder. He doesn't want to run up debt. And he doesn't have a timeline for when he wants to sell. How does that work in practice? Hear the CEO and Founder of Permanent Equity tell you himself...

David Batstone’s entrepreneurial journey begins at his favorite restaurant in San Francisco. As he recalls, he loved the tandoori chicken, but he didn’t realize that he was eating in the center of a human trafficking ring that had brought over 500 teenagers from India into the United States for the purpose of forced labor. A journalist and venture capitalist, David couldn’t reconcile the fact that human slavery was happening in his own backyard. So, he decided to do something about it. The result is Not for Sale, a book where he breaks down how business can fix the $31 billion human trafficking epidemic.Today, he’s with us to share that journey of how God opened his eyes to the brokenness in the world and gave him a vision for how to fix it.

When we say, ‘bring your whole authentic self to work,’ what if faith is your number one identifier? Can you still bring your authentic self to work? That’s the question Sue Warnke is asking. Sue works for Salesforce as the Senior Director of Content Experience, and she was part of the team that started Faithforce San Francisco at Salesforce—an interfaith employee resource group. It’s one of the newest and the fastest growing Equality Groups at Salesforce with over 3200 members in over 20 regional hubs across 5 continents. In addition to sharing her best practices on her blog Leanership.org, today, Sue will share how Faithforce got started, how her personal faith influenced her involvement, and what it takes to start a successful Employee Resource Group.

Collin Timms is the Founder and Chairman of Guardian Bank in Bengaluru, India. In a city and country where loan sharks prey on people every day, Guardian Bank is a bright spot. While banking is a largely impersonal system set up to avoid risk by tying creditworthiness to capital instead of character, Collin and his team take a different approach. Inspired by faith that sees the infinite worth of each person, Guardian Bank provides a more humane view to the money lending process that provides hope for everyday households and commercial customers.

Not every Faith Driven Investor is called to a Christian-based investing fund or job. In fact, many of the people listening to this podcast work in secular markets, which is exactly why we talked to Andrew Manton today.Andrew is the Portfolio Manager for the Shelton International Select Equity strategy. We had an interesting conversation with him about how he is operating in a non-Christian company but is now evangelizing the firm and the salespeople based on how he is managing his fund. Today, you’ll hear him describe how rather than joining a Christian-specific fund, he sees his current work as an opportunity to live out his faith.