If you believe the highest goal of investing is simply to earn a high return, you may be overlooking a deeper purpose—how our money can be used for good.
As investors, we’ve been given resources to manage, not just for profit, but in alignment with God’s will and values. It’s easy to see investing through a purely earthly lens, but God invites us into a much greater story. Today, Robin John joins us to explore that bigger vision.
Robin John is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Eventide Asset Management, an underwriter of Faith & Finance. He’s also the author of the forthcoming book, The Good Investor: How Your Work Can Confront Injustice, Love Your Neighbor, and Bring Healing to the World.
A Vision for Redemptive Investing
Eventide’s tagline—“Investing that makes the world rejoice”—is more than marketing. It’s a biblical conviction inspired by Proverbs:
“When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices, but when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.” – Proverbs 11:10
Righteousness, in this context, refers to those who seek the good of others. The righteous prosper by looking out for the people in the city. But the wicked prosper through exploitation, especially of the poor. That leads to groaning, not rejoicing.
For Eventide, investing is about more than avoiding harm. It’s about actively investing in companies whose products and practices bring tangible good into the world—serving real needs, not exploiting vulnerabilities.
Can You Do Good and Do Well?
A common concern among faith-based investors is whether aligning values with investments means sacrificing returns.
Romans 12 tells us “not to conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” That means we should be willing to make sacrifices if necessary. But that doesn’t mean underperformance.
Research from the Biblically Responsible Investing Institute, drawing on a 19-year study, compares values-based screening (which excludes companies involved in activities such as abortion, pornography, and tobacco) with the S&P 500 and yields equivalent long-term returns.
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