By Brian Falls, CFP® CKA®
For many families, money is one of the most significant parts of their lives, and one of the least discussed. We make decisions every day about how we earn, save, give, and invest, and those decisions reflect what we believe is important. Yet when people sit down with a financial advisor, the conversation often stays on the numbers and never quite touches their morals and beliefs.
Faith-based investing is one way to bridge that gap. It's the idea that your financial decisions can reflect your values in the same way the rest of your life already does. For some families, that means a Christian framework rooted in biblical principles. For others, it might be a broader set of ethical or moral commitments. The starting point is the same: your money is part of your stewardship, and your portfolio can be part of that story.
At Mueller Wealth, we work with families across Oak Brook, Sarasota, and beyond who are exploring what this looks like in practice. Here is a simple framework we use to help make the conversation clear and actionable.
Step 1: Start With Your "Why"
Before we talk about funds, screens, or strategies, we start with a question: What do you want your wealth to do?
For some, the answer is generosity; they want to give more, give wisely, and pass values along with their assets. For others, the answer is integrity; they want to know that what they own is consistent with what they believe. And for many, it is both.
Naming the "why" matters because it gives every later decision a reference point. When markets get noisy or a new investment trend appears, you can come back to a clear statement of purpose rather than reacting to the headline of the week.
One client family we work with put it simply during a planning meeting: "We want to be good stewards with the money we are entrusted with." That sentence became the anchor for every decision that followed.
Step 2: Define What to Avoid and What to Support
Faith-based and values-based investing often gets reduced to a list of what you will not own. That is part of it, but it’s only half of the picture.
The "avoid" side is sometimes called screening. Investors may choose to limit or exclude exposure to industries that conflict with their values, such as certain types of entertainment, products, or business activities they consider harmful. Several mutual funds and ETFs are specifically built around these screens, and they have grown considerably in both quality and variety over the past decade.
The "support" side is where many families find new energy. Are there companies or themes you actually want to invest in? Businesses that treat people well, strengthen families, advance medical innovation, or serve communities you care about? Building a portfolio doesn’t only focus on removing the negative, it can also lean into the positive.
A useful exercise: write down three to five things you want your money to avoid, and three to five things you want your money to actively support. That short list often does more to shape a portfolio than any market forecast.
Step 3: Build a Portfolio That Still Works As a Portfolio
This is the part where good intentions can run into reality. A faith-based portfolio still needs to function as a portfolio. That means appropriate diversification, a thoughtful mix of stocks, bonds, and other assets, reasonable costs, and a risk level that matches your goals and time horizon.
The good news is that the universe of faith-based and values-based investment options has expanded significantly. It's now possible to build broadly diversified portfolios using screened mutual funds, ETFs, and separately managed accounts. We often blend these with traditional holdings where it makes sense, especially in tax-deferred accounts or for specific asset classes where screened options are still developing.
A few practical guardrails we use with clients:
Stay diversified. Concentrating in a single theme, even a values-aligned one, introduces risk that may not serve you well.
Watch costs and tax efficiency. A values-aligned fund still needs to earn its place in the portfolio on the fundamentals.
Coordinate across accounts. Sometimes it makes sense to use screened strategies in some accounts and broader market exposure in others, depending on tax treatment and beneficiaries.
Step 4: Connect Investing to Giving and Estate Planning
Faith-based investing rarely lives on an island. Most of the families we work with also care deeply about how they give and how they pass wealth to the next generation. These pieces tend to reinforce each other.
A few questions to consider:
Are you using a donor-advised fund, a private foundation, or another structured giving vehicle? These can offer tax efficiency and make giving more intentional over time.
Are appreciated securities part of your giving plan? Gifting long-term appreciated investments instead of cash can be a powerful way to support causes you believe in while managing your tax picture. Coordinate with your CPA on the specifics.
Does your estate plan reflect your values? Trusts, beneficiary designations, and family meetings can all be designed to pass on more than just dollars. Many of our clients want their children and grandchildren to inherit a clear sense of purpose alongside the financial gift.
Step 5: Review and Adjust Over Time
Values evolve and family situations change. The investment options keep changing too. Instead of a one-time project, a faith-based portfolio is a relationship between you, your advisor, and the plan, reviewed regularly to check that everything still fits.
We typically revisit this with clients at least once a year, often as part of a broader planning review. New screened funds may have become available. Your giving capacity may have grown. A family member may now be involved in the decisions. Each of these can prompt a small adjustment that keeps the portfolio aligned with where you actually are today.
A Practical Example
We were meeting with a new client who had a portfolio of municipal bonds. We asked why they did not have any stock investments. They stated that they did not want to invest in anything that conflicted with their faith.
We started by identifying the products and industries they wanted to avoid. From there, we identified screened mutual funds, ETFs, and separate managed accounts that fit their values. We also worked with their attorney to update their estate plan so their adult children would inherit not only assets but guidance on how they should be cared for after they are gone.
The result was not a perfect portfolio. There's no such thing. But it was a portfolio they could explain, defend, and live with. That, more than any single fund choice, is what we are typically looking for.
How to Get Started
If this approach resonates with you, the next step doesn't have to be complicated. We typically begin with a short conversation to understand what you care about, what you already own, and where you would like to head. From there, we can map out a framework that fits your situation.
If you'd like to explore what faith-based investing could look like for your family, request a values-based investing review with our team in Oak Brook or Sarasota. To schedule, call 312-847-7334, email, or send us a message online.
We're happy to walk through your current portfolio, talk through your priorities, and build a plan that reflects both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is faith-based investing?
Faith-based investing is an approach that aligns your investment decisions with your religious or moral beliefs. It often involves screening out certain industries while intentionally supporting companies whose practices reflect your values. Christian investors sometimes call this biblically responsible investing.
Is faith-based investing the same as ESG investing?
Not exactly. ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing and faith-based investing can overlap, but they start from different motivations. Faith-based investing typically begins with religious or moral convictions, while ESG focuses on sustainability and corporate responsibility metrics. Some funds combine elements of both.
Will faith-based investing hurt my returns?
The honest answer is that it depends on the strategy and the time period. Screened portfolios may behave differently than the broader market in some years, but with thoughtful diversification, many faith-based investors have achieved long-term outcomes consistent with their goals. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and every situation is different.
Can I use faith-based investing in my 401(k) or IRA?
Often, yes. IRAs offer wide flexibility, and a growing number of employer retirement plans now include screened fund options. If your current plan does not, we can often coordinate strategies across your other accounts to reflect your values.
How do I know if my current portfolio aligns with my values?
A simple portfolio review can identify holdings that may not fit your priorities. We are happy to provide a complimentary review for families exploring this approach.
About Brian
Brian Falls, CFP® CKA®, is a Wealth Advisor at Mueller Wealth, located in Oak Brook, IL, and Sarasota, FL, with over three decades of experience specializing in faith-based investing, structured products, and comprehensive financial planning. Inspired by the life-changing impact of disciplined saving, he leverages his MBA and dual certifications to provide systematic guidance to clients across Illinois and Florida.
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Investing involves risk including the loss of principal. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes.
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) / Environmental Social Governance (ESG) / Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) investing / Faith Driven Investing (FDI) has certain risks based on the fact that the criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons and, therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller
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