09.11.23
Faith-Based Advisors Seek Freedom To Be Their Full Selves at Work
by: Brianna Monsanto
Lack of access is one of several challenges faith-based advisors encounter as they look to provide services in a way that feels authentic to their identity. “When you're a financial advisor working at a secular firm and you want to pray with a client and your manager reprimands you afterwards, that causes stress,” said Robert Netzly, CEO of Inspire Investing. “If you're an advisor and you're wanting to teach a Bible study or do a seminar on biblical financial principles and your compliance department won't approve it, that's a problem.” Netzly left Wells Fargo Advisors to start what became Inspire Advisors in 2011. Matthew Daugavietis, a financial planner who broke away from Ameriprise Financial to join Inspire in 2022, said Inspire immediately piqued his interest, though he acknowledged that suitable options were scant. “There might be literally dozens, if not hundreds of other RIAs to consider affiliating with. In the faith-based space, there's far fewer,” he said. Secular options also remain limited for faith-based advisors as some firms may promote stances on social issues that don’t align with their religious beliefs or those of their clients.
Read the full article on Financial Advisor IQ