Aligning investment strategies with faith-based criteria

James Kraatz is the co-founder and president of Faith Investment Services LLC and has over 30 years of experience in the financial-services industry. His firm offers a full range of financial, retirement-planning, and wealth-management services.

Mr. Kraatz says the cornerstone of his firm’s investment philosophy is aligning investment strategies and selections with their clients’ personal beliefs and values. His firm uses a sophisticated tool called eVALUEator, which screens investments based on criteria related to faith and moral beliefs. The criteria can be customized for each client. His firm can use the tool directly or use third-party managers that provide actively risk-managed, well-diversified investment strategies that meet faith-based screening criteria.

The tool’s capabilities include the following:

• Access to Morningstar data to provide reports on over 18,000 funds—including fund of funds, ETFs, and variable annuities—and over 52,000 U.S. and international stocks.
• In-depth screening of companies individually or within fund holdings along cultural screens (pornography, human rights, and others) and consumer screens (gambling, tobacco, and alcohol). The screening identifies companies with a corporate agenda that violates these screens.
• Proven research methodology and state-of-the art analysis in faith-based investing, based on 30 years of experience.
• Integration of research from the Institute for Corporate Securities Research Inc., which is updated regularly to ensure the most accurate information available through Morningstar.