Voting Right Investing Left

[INTRODUCTION] Welcome to “Christian Financial Perspectives”, where you’re invited to gain insight, wisdom and knowledge about how Christians integrate their faith, life and finances with a Biblical Worldview. Here’s your host Christian Investment Advisor, Financial Planner, and Coach, Bob Barber. Bob: Hi Bailey. Bailey: Hi, Bob. Today, we’re talking about voting and investing. Bob: Voting and investing, huh? Well, I’d like to ask a few people with the elections coming up, why they vote? Bailey: Well, we have Abby Forton here and she works in our building as well here at Christian Financial Advisors®. She works for a company called Sperry CGA, which is a commercial real estate group. Abby loves the Lord and she loves our country and she is going to vote. And so in this podcast that we’re calling “Voting Right, Investing Left”, we’ve asked a handful of people, why do you vote? And so Abby, we would love to know why do you vote? Abby: Well, thanks for asking me. Personally, I found really early on that my vote and the things that I’m voting for do actually affect my life through taxes, through policy, and especially through the culture, because we do know that policies tend to follow the culture and those things really can bleed into your everyday. And so even as just one small voice, along with the other voices that agree with us, we really can make a difference and it matters. It’s our world that we’re talking about. It’s the people around us and how we treat each other a lot. Bailey: Amen. Amen and well said. And thanks for taking some time to talk to us. Abby: No problem. Thanks. Bailey: Well, I have Shawn Peters here who’s one of our wealth advisors here at Christian Financial Advisors®. He’s also Bob Barber’s son-in-law and I’m excited to ask him this question of why does he vote, for our podcast “Voting Right, Investing Left”. And so hi Shawn. Shawn: Hi Bailey. Glad to be here. Bailey: So, why do you vote? Shawn: That’s a great question. And I know there’s probably a lot of people listening to this right now that ask the question sometimes themselves of, “Yeah. Why do I vote? Because it doesn’t seem like it makes a difference sometimes,” but at the end of the day, it’s not just one of our civic duties, but it’s also a privilege. We live in a country where we have the right to vote. We have the right to affect how we’re governed through the people that we elect that represent us. So with that in mind, for me, regardless of where I might live or where someone listening might be living, regardless of what you think the sway of your area might be to one particular candidate or the other and whatever the election is, you should always vote with your values and your conscience. So every time you vote, choose someone that aligns with what you believe and someone that fits that as much as possible. And unfortunately, as many people probably think in modern politics is that there isn’t ever anyone that actually fits with everything you believe. So sometimes, you have to choose who is it that fits the most? And there might be certain things that I refuse to stand down on. And so I might go with someone who only fits 5 out of 10 instead of 7 out of 10, but it’s the non-negotiables. Hopefully, that kind of helps and maybe helps people out there who are wondering the same thing of Why do I vote? Why do I continue to vote? Bailey: Okay, absolutely. Well thanks for taking some time to sit with us and I appreciate it. Shawn: Absolutely. Bailey: Well, I have with us Ron First, who’s a dear friend and Christian brother who works in the office here at Christian Financial Advisors®, doing Christian Insurance Services. And Ron, we would love to hear you speak into this podcast as we talk about “Voting Right, Investing Left”. And I would love to just hear, why do you vote? Ron: Love requires it. Choice is what God gives us. Whether we accept Jesus or we don’t. The government that we have right now has been given to us by the Lord. Scripture is very clear that all municipalities and governments, Paul spoke to that, were put here for the purpose of doing God’s will. So when I have a choice to choose the leader that will govern our nation and will, in essence, set the rules and legislation and laws that will affect me, my family, my children, my children’s children. Love requires me to take advantage of that incredible gift of choice to choose to vote. America has always been a staunch helper, supporter of Israel. I’m also very, very keen on that. I realize that the day that our nation turns its back on Israel, I also realize that’s the day that will be our downfall as a nation. And that’s about it. I just think it’s an incredible opportunity. I think it’s every American’s, especially every Christian American’s, obligation to do that. I also feel very strongly not to vote is a vote in itself as well. Bailey: Wow. Couldn’t agree more. Well said. Well, thanks. Thanks for being a part of this, Ron, and well said. I appreciate you. Ron: Thank you. Bob: So Bailey, thank you for doing those interviews with some of the folks in our office about why they vote. So Bailey, why do you vote? Bailey: I vote because I think that the freedom to vote is a gift from the Lord. And I think that voting is the fabric of our democracy and it’s a privilege and I want to be able to say that I stood up for the things that I believed in and stood against the things that I didn’t believe in. That’s why I vote. What about you Bob? We’ve heard from all these people. So why do you vote? Bob: Well, I vote because I love this country too, and I really want it to be run by those with pro-family, pro-life, pro-marriage values and Christian values. I truly believe in freedom and free enterprise and limited government and limited taxation and abiding by the constitution. So, I want to vote for those that believe that way. My voting is an extension of my Christian beliefs. I’d like to ask our listeners the same question. I want you to think about why do you vote? Is it for many of the same reasons that you’ve heard, not just from myself and Bailey, but some of the other folks that are in my office complex, and is voting important to you? Because I believe that voting is extremely important. Bailey: Absolutely. Edmund Burke said the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. And so today’s podcast is about voting right and unintentionally investing left because millions of conservative voters are unknowingly supporting the leftist liberal agenda by how they’re investing every day, week, month, and year in their IRAs, company and government retirement plans, and brokerage accounts. Remember I said, unknowingly. I don’t believe any real conservatives would ever unintentionally invest to support that liberal leftist agenda while voting right. But unfortunately millions are. Bob: There was an article that really spurred me. I mean, I’ve been involved in values based investing, which we’ll be getting to, about how one way that you vote. But what spurred me to think about voting right and investing left was this article I saw that appeared on cnbc.com over the 4th of July weekend this summer. So, I’m going to read some of this article to you. I don’t mean to just read to you, but I want you to listen to this because this was very powerful. I remember seeing this article and we even put it in our last newsletter about voting right and investing left. So here’s what it says. “Tech workers are opening their wallets to beat conservative, pro-life, free enterprise candidates, even with stock prices soaring and profit at near records, among political donations from employees at the top five tech companies.” I’m not going to mention any, but come on, y’all. You know who the top five tech companies are in America. “84% of their money has gone to Democrats, up from 68% just four years ago in 2016. Biden has received almost 12 times the amount from tech firms as has Trump and democratic Senate candidates for competitive seats are also getting the high tech money. Even while these tech companies’ stock prices soar to record levels, as well as our profits. But while the world’s most comfortable tech companies have expanded their dominance into three and a half years during Trump’s pro-business, free enterprise presidency with an assist from corporate tax breaks, employees at those same companies are more adamant than ever about unseating him.” This is crazy. “A lot of people have been making a lot of money in Silicon Valley while watching the world fall apart. And they’ve seen their fortunes rise as the rest of the country’s fortunes fall.” During this COVID. “So for decades, the tech industry has leaned left, particularly in the hotbeds of Silicon Valley and Seattle and heading into this November’s contest. The partisan disparity has never been so lopped sided.” Man, when I read this, I just think to myself, how counterproductive when it’s free enterprise and it’s freedom that has gotten these tech companies to where they are today, yet they want to vote for candidates that don’t believe that way. It doesn’t make any sense to me. Bailey: Wow, Bob, I wonder how many conservatives own these high tech companies that this article is referring to, in their IRAs, their 401ks, retirement plans, and brokerage accounts. Bob: Huh? You wonder that, huh? Well, my opinion is it’s in the millions, and it’s maybe not just an opinion. It’s a fact, that it’s in the millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, when you look at the entire market about how many conservatives own these high tech companies that are funding the leftist agenda. Bailey: Wow. Yeah. I wonder how many conservatives are also unknowingly investing in all kinds of other companies, besides tech companies, that are also funding those leftist agendas that they would be voting against. Bob: Again, that’s probably in the millions, but today more than ever, there are so many alternatives for conservative voters that vote right. So they can invest right if they want to. They don’t have to vote right and invest left. They can vote right and invest right. But this takes a conscious effort. It doesn’t just happen on its own. Bailey: So Bob, how do we do that? How do we vote right and invest right? Bob: Well, it’s utilizing a values based investing methodology. And what this does is it avoids companies that give money and support liberal causes, like we were talking about earlier, that want to take away our freedoms. It avoids companies that support destructive behaviors and lifestyles, companies that make money on gambling, tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and abortion, and it avoids those companies that give their money and support organizations like Planned Parenthood that takes away human lives in their most vulnerable state, and companies that are also pushing the LGBTQ agenda to our youth. So values based investing avoids that, but at the same time, it supports. So it supports companies that are pro-family and those with pro-family values, companies that want to make the world a better place, ones that treat their employees well with fair pay and good health insurance benefits or retirement plan and time off for family, companies that provide a safe working environment, companies with good employee training programs, companies that are compassionate toward their employees’ needs, and companies that care about the environment and God’s creation. So values based investing started over 25 years ago. In the beginning, it was called morally responsible investing. And then there was a phrase that was added to that by the Christian community that was called biblically responsible investing. And today, many refer to it as values based investing. I’ve heard people even say faith based investing, but the one thing through it all is how important this is aligning to your values. Bailey: And so this has been helping conservatives and those that still believe in conservative, pro-family, pro-life values align their investments with how they vote and how they believe, but will the returns be the same? I mean, are they just going to lose out on a bunch of money if they’re investing in a way that’s biblically responsible or values-based? Bob: People would think that because you just think, well, I’m avoiding a lot of companies, but if you compare like kinds of values based ETFs today, mutual funds, and stocks against the ones that are not values-based, the past returns have been very comparable and in some cases even better. But I have got to say that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. It also goes with your conscious that you’re doing the right thing. Bailey: Hmm. Wow. So Bob, how long have you been involved with values based investing? Bob: Over 25 years, even before the first values-based, morally responsible mutual fund started. When I started, the choices, too, were so limited. They were very limited. But over the years, the choices have expanded, Bailey, to include nearly every asset class out there. The same asset classes that are available in the non values based space. So you can build a very diversified portfolio today of values based ETFs, mutual funds, and stocks, and the technology we also use today helps us enormously with finding values based, morally responsible companies, ETFs, and mutual funds. When I first started, it was just very, very limited. So I’ve watched this thing just grow and grow and grow. And it’s been really neat to watch it grow. I was one of the first three to five people in the country to start this type of investing. Bailey: Wow. So you’ve been doing it for over 25 years. And so instead of voting right and investing left, you can vote right and invest right, and it’s easier now than it’s ever been, right? Bob: Yes. You got it. And at Christian Financial Advisors®, we’ve been dedicated, like I said, to these conservative values so that those with those values and Christian values, they can align it, line up, vote right and invest right. Like I said, I’m one of the first three to five pioneers that started this. It started with just a few thousand dollars back then. And today, values based investment choices are in the many billions and billions of dollars. So, it’s really great that you can do this. It’s a positive thing. We’re making a positive difference. This type of investing is starting to really catch hold. I mean, it’s been featured several times in the Wall Street Journal and in some major financial publications, and even some of the the ETF values based companies and mutual fund values based companies have even opened up the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange. So, it is really catching hold, and I just want people to think about why do you vote? Well, don’t vote right and then go invest left. Let me show you how you can vote right and invest right. And that’s my goal. Bailey: Wow. Well, you make it sound easy. I mean, I’m encouraged. It sounds a lot easier than I would think it would be. And so, where would someone get started with aligning their conservative vote with their investments? Bob: Well, there’s several ways. And one of the ways is I would like to help you get that started. You don’t have to use Christian Financial Advisors® that I’m the founder of. My goal is just to watch this movement grow and I’ll help you get started. I’ll help you find other advisors. There’s many other advisors across the country now that can help you with this. Thank goodness. It’s gone from, like I said, a handful of us in the beginning to now there’s hundreds and hundreds that love this movement, but start with a visit by going to our website first to christianfinancialadvisors.com and clicking on “Values Based Investing”. Or you can start with a phone call during business hours by giving us a call at (830) 609-6986 or email info@ciswealth.com. We want to make it easy for you. We don’t want to make this difficult. We want to educate you about how you can vote right and invest right. We have been serving conservative Christian clients all over the United States for many years that want to align how they invest with how they vote. Bailey: Wow. Well, thanks Bob. This is a lot of really good information and I’m hopeful. It sounds a lot easier than I thought it would seem. And so thanks for your time today. Bob: You’re welcome. [CONCLUSION] That’s all for now. We invite you to listen to all of our past episodes covering many financial topics from a Christian Perspective. To make sure you don’t miss any of Bob’s upcoming episodes you can subscribe to Christian Financial Perspectives on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, or Stitcher. To learn more about integrating your faith with your finances, visit ciswealth.com or call 830-609-6986. [DISCLOSURES] Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc. DBA Christian Financial Advisors®, a registered investment advisor. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the host, Bob Barber. Bob does not provide tax advice and encourages you to seek guidance from a tax professional.