Faith Driven Investor

Today’s episode takes us to jail. Well...not exactly. But we are interviewing a man who owns and operates a business that is run out of a high-security prison. His name is Pete Ochs, and in addition to working as founder and chairman of an impact investing company, he’s also working to make Hutchinson Correctional Facility in Kansas the best prison in America. How? Well, we’ll let him tell you…Pete is an expert when it comes to multiple bottom line investing—something many Faith Driven Investors are familiar with—and in this episode, he walked us through what that means, what it can look like, and how others can apply this approach to their own lives.As always, thanks for listening.Useful Links:Jailhouse Business of GenerosityInmate Confesses God’s Love at Seat KingWork as Flourishing in PrisonEnterprise Stewardship

Today’s guest is one we’ve been excited about for a long time. Bob Doll is a leader in the faith-driven investing movement from his work at Oppenheimer Funds, Merrill Lynch, BlackRock, and now, Nuveen. You may have seen him on one of his frequent appearances on CNBC, and we were honored to have Bob join us last summer for the Faith Driven Investing gathering in Utah. The work he’s been doing for the best few decades has been instrumental in shaping the conversation this website is stewarding.We owe a lot to Bob Doll and we’re excited to share the hard-earned wisdom his experience has yielded. As always, thanks for listening.Useful Links:Bob Doll’s 10 Predictions for 2020Bob Doll on Faith and FinancesMaintaining a Christ-Like Attitude with Bob Doll

Today, we have not one special guest but two for you to hear from. We are talking with Will Thomas and Dean Macfarlan down in the heart of Texas. They’re both accomplished investors on their own, but what makes the story even more compelling is that they’re a part of a new movement of City Networks where like minded Faith Driven Investors are uniting to do more together than they might be able to do apart.Ambassadors Impact Network is a group of over 30 different members that are coming together to collectively invest in and encourage Faith Driven Entrepreneurs. Hear how they’re connecting faith-driven entrepreneurs with like-minded investors and how you can replicate their success in your own city.This is a movement we’re hoping to see take off across the country, and we’re excited for you to hear Dean and Will share what they’ve learned in their experience. As always, thanks for listening.Useful Links:Ambassadors Impact NetworkAngel capital associationCreating Your Own Angel Investing Group

Today we are talking to Robert Netzly, President & CEO of Inspire Investing. If you’ve been following the Faith Driven Investor website, that name should sound familiar to you as we’ve featured a lot of their content on our blog. But today, we’re talking about the man behind the company—the man who many consider an advocate for Biblically Responsible Investing in places where the conversation hasn’t even begun. The way that Inspire has an impact as an active shareholder is encouraging and has led to some incredible stories. Well, today, we’re going to hear from that voice, and in addition to hearing his story, he’s going to share just what it looks like to invest with Biblical principles in mind.As always, thanks for listening. Useful Links:Inspire InvestingThe Biblically Responsible Investing Movement is ExplodingInspire Ranked Among Top Ten Fastest Growing RIAsWould You Write a Check to Planned Parenthood?

It’s not every day you get to have a conversation with someone who is widely considered to be a founding father, but that’s exactly where we found ourselves with Ron Blue. If you’ve been around the Faith Driven Investing conversation at all, you’ve no doubt heard the name, which is why we’re so excited he agreed to sit down with us.When it comes to time with Ron, it’s like sitting in front of a firehose. His extensive experience lends to the profound insight and wisdom he has about the current state of Faith Driven Investing and what’s to come. You won’t regret tuning in to hear the half hour he shared with us.Whether you’re new to Faith Driven Investing, or whether you’ve been involved in this movement your entire professional career, you’ll love this conversation with Ron Blue. As always, thanks for listening. Useful Links:Master Your MoneyThinking Right About Your MoneyWhat’s Your Why? The Ron Blue StoryPrinciples-Based Investing: The Ron Blue Investment Framework

Today’s episode finds us all the way down under—in Australia with our guest Tim Macready. Tim is Chief Investment Officer at Christian Super. He has been responsible for the development of the Fund’s Responsible Investment Approach, which is applied across the entire portfolio and now incorporates Negative Screening and Impact Investing. What we think you'll love most about this episode is hearing Tim talk about how he set out to create the “perfect, faith driven fund”. But then he realized…We’re all sinners. He’s a sinner, every company is led by sinners, and every customer is a sinner.He talks openly about how that shifted his perspective, some of the tough decisions it led him to, and how he stewards that calling today. As always, thanks for listening. Useful Links:How Our Faith Affects the Way We InvestWhere Are the Christian Investors?Why I Invest in Sinners

Today’s episode finds us in Tennessee talking to Donnie Smith, who previously served many years as CEO of Tyson Foods and oversaw record growth and some pivotal acquisitions.Donnie's contagious enthusiasm and passion characterized his tenure at the company, which he joined in 1980 at one of the entry-level management roles. He led Tyson Foods to be a company with a conscience, focused on feeding the world great, affordable food, while also making a positive difference in people's lives. On a national level, fewer high profile companies have utilized chaplaincy as a tool to care for a diverse workforce. As we think about how faith and chaplaincy intersect with the world of public equities we couldn’t think of anyone better to share about their experience. Tune in to hear Donnie talk about what it was like living out his faith in a publicly-traded company and some of his personal experience in Faith Driven Investing. Useful Links:Donnie Smith RightNow Media VideosTruth at Work: Donnie SmithFormer Tyson CEO Focu

“The goal is not to grow an organization—it’s to build the Kingdom of God.”Now, if you’ve followed along with us for a while you may remember Peter Greer from an episode we did with him on the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast. If you haven’t already, we highly recommend listening to that interview. But in this episode, we’re talking specifically about his book Rooting for Rivals. Peter is going to explain why he believes that leaders in this Faith Driven Investing community can multiply their impact when they focus on collaboration and cooperation. He shares both anecdotal and analytical evidence to support his theory, and we think you’ll be glad you listened in… Useful Links:Rooting for Rivals BookRooting for Rivals PodcastHow to Slay a Dragon: FDE Podcast with Peter Greer

“I think all of us can sense that something has gone wrong in America.”Despite new levels of financial and material success, it feels like America is a more depressed and divided country than ever. But what does this have to do with economics? And how should faith driven investors respond? Today’s guest, Brian Fikkert, has a Biblically-based economics lesson in store for us today that asks all the right questions.How can we have unprecedented wealth and declining happiness? Why doesn’t material wealth automatically lead to human flourishing? And what does the economy, both locally and globally, have to do with our relationship with God?Brian Fikkert takes cues from both the economy and the Bible, and as you’ll hear in this episode, when we merge those two things, we come to the realization that what happens to us physically, relationally, and economically affects us spiritually. Tune in to hear Brian Fikkert’s take on mainstream economic thinking and how everyone, no matter their income-level, can glorify God

Impact Investing is a buzzword in the faith driven investing world. But there are dozens of definitions out there for what it actually means. On today’s episode, we’re moving toward setting the record straight. Aimee Minnich has been around since the beginning of the Faith Driven Investor movement and through her work with the National Christian Foundation and the Impact Foundation she’s proven herself an expert on what it means to invest with impact in mind.When you listen to her episode, you’ll hear the history of impact investing. While the term has been around since 2006, Aimee makes it clear that this idea has been around for much longer. And in addition to looking back, she also gives us an idea of where impact investing is trending next. She also discusses the value of truth-telling and how that relates not only to the way we interact with others, but to how we approach investing.We’re so glad to have people like Aimee Minnich involved in this movement, and after you hear this episode, we think you’ll

Our friend Frank Chen stopped by the Faith Driven Investor podcast to talk about how he’s helping entrepreneurs change the World at the Silicon Valley Venture powerhouse of Andreessen Horowitz. As Frank describes it they are “helping entrepreneurs build software companies that are eating the world.” (he’ll give you a little more info about what that means in our interview).   Frank Chen is a self proclaimed former product and user experience design junkie with specialties in venture capital, artificial intelligence/machine learning, fund raising, product planning, product launches, product development process, enterprise software, UX design, Web hosting, and managed services. With a breadth of expertise like that, you can see why we were excited to have him on the show.  In addition to all of that, Frank also shared a vision for what it could look like when investors view themselves as servant leaders. So often, we think of the relationship between entrepreneur and investor as a constant power struggle, but F

Faith-Based Employee Resource Groups. This term may be new to you, or it may be something you’re already participating in. Either way, this episode is for you. Christeen Rico is leading the conversation around ERGs, and what she shared in our conversation was both informative and insightful. If you don’t know, ERGs are groups within companies that foster community and conversation among like-minded people. Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Toyota, and many more are creating these types of groups, so we’re grateful that Christeen dropped by to give us the inside scoop. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for ways to foster faith-based conversations within your business, Christeen will tell you exactly what it takes to form these groups. Or, if you’re an investor looking to get involved with companies that already have ERGs, Christeen will help you understand why these groups are important and how they add value. Apart from that, Christeen was also a fun person to spend time with, and we think you’ll find t

Today’s episode takes us to Silicon Valley to connect with Trae Stephens. You may have seen Trae on CNBC, or you may know him as one of the Partners at Founders Fund. It was an honor to have Trae on to share about his experiences—everything from his time in politics working for Congressmen and in Embassies to now working alongside Peter Thiel. Trae also shares about his life as a Christ Follower and how it shapes his view of the investing world. In particular, Trae outlines what it means for an entrepreneur to be an outlier. He describes the difference between business ideas that fit into a certain pre-existing category and those that break every mold out there. He also shares cautionary advice about what not to do as an entrepreneur. His perspective as a venture capitalist is helpful to listen to for both investors and entrepreneurs alike. But this podcast doesn’t stop there. As you know, we’re always approaching the conversation of entrepreneurship and investing from a faith-driven perspective. Trae is no e

When we first learned about Apartment Life it sounded too good to be true. The work they do in apartment complexes improves their overall financial performance, grows their online reputation, and strengthens their resident retention rates. With benefits like these, it’s no surprise that they’re taking off, now serving over 3 million residents from coast to coast. In this episode, Pete Kelly explains just how they do it. We believe this podcast is especially valuable to you for two reasons. One, you get to hear about an incredible business venture in Apartment Life. There’s no doubt you’ll be hearing more about them in the future, and we’re glad we get to share about them early on in this podcast. And two, you get to hear the heart behind the business. Pete Kelly is one of those business leaders who puts his heart into what he’s doing, and it shows in this interview. We’re excited for you to hear about Apartment Life and the potential they have in the real estate market. But even more so, this podcast gives yo

We’re so excited to finally launch the Faith Driven Investor podcast. As we move forward, we’ll feature episodes tailored for fund managers, investors, business owners, and pastors who believe God owns it all and who care deeply about how we steward our investments for financial return and gospel-centered transformation. If that sounds interesting to you, tune in today! This week’s episode features Henry Kaestner of Sovereign’s Capital and Aimee Minnich of Impact Foundation. Together they discuss the faith driven investing movement, what God has been and is doing, and what the future of this movement looks like. As you listen, we hope you get as excited about the launch of the new Faith Driven Investor website and podcast as we are. Our hope is that both of these resources will help you on both your spiritual and professional journey. Check out the link below to see the new Faith Driven Investor site and don’t hesitate to let us know what you think! As always, we’re relying on you, our community, to make thes