Values-Based Investing in Aiken, SC
Investments That Reflect What You Believe
What Is Values-Based Investing?
Who This Approach Is Built For
Freitas Wealth Management Group works with individuals and families who want their investment portfolio to reflect the same values that guide the rest of their lives. For many clients, that means going beyond standard portfolio construction and asking a different set of questions — not just what a company earns, but what it does and how it operates.
Values-based investing makes that possible. It is an approach to portfolio construction that integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions, allowing you to pursue financial goals while supporting companies whose practices align with your beliefs.
The clients who are drawn to this approach most often include:
- Faith-driven families who want their investments to be consistent with their biblical convictions, not in tension with them.
- Individuals who care about specific issues — such as environmental stewardship, community impact, or ethical business practices — and want their portfolio to reflect those priorities.
- Clients approaching retirement who are thinking carefully about the legacy their assets represent, not just their account balances.
- Business owners and professionals who apply values-based thinking to their work and want the same consistency in their personal investments.
- Generous givers who see their entire financial picture — including what they invest — as an expression of their stewardship.
“Do well by doing good.”
— Benjamin Franklin
How We Build Values-Based Portfolios
When constructing values-based investment models, Robert looks for asset managers who consider both the impact of what a business does and the impact of how it operates. That dual lens — product and practice — is central to finding managers whose approach is genuinely values-driven rather than surface-level.
One of the firm’s key partners in this effort is Eventide Asset Management, whose proprietary framework for evaluating companies is designed specifically for values-aligned investors. Eventide’s approach helps clients access professionally managed portfolios built around those criteria, without requiring each investor to screen companies individually.
Because Robert holds the Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA®) credential, he is also trained to integrate biblically responsible investing criteria into the planning process for clients whose values are grounded in scripture. For those clients, values-based investing and faith-based stewardship are two parts of the same conversation.
The Case for Values-Based Investing
Values-based investing offers several practical reasons to consider it alongside the personal motivation of values alignment:
- Alignment with your beliefs: You can support companies that actively contribute to causes you care about — whether that’s environmental stewardship, ethical governance, or positive community impact.
- Long-term performance potential: Research has suggested that companies with strong ESG practices may outperform peers over the long term, which means the values-based approach is not necessarily a financial sacrifice.
- Risk awareness: Assessing social and environmental risks as part of the investment process can help identify companies that may be exposed to regulatory, reputational, or operational challenges down the road.
- Transparency and accountability: Companies that embrace values-based practices tend to be more transparent about their operations and more accountable for their impact — giving you greater visibility into where your money is working.
That said, values-based investing does involve tradeoffs. Because it excludes certain securities for non-financial reasons, the investable universe is smaller. Robert walks every client through those tradeoffs openly so the decision is informed, not assumed.
Values-Based Investing in South Carolina
Freitas Wealth Management Group is based in Aiken, SC, with a second office in Lexington, SC — serving clients throughout the CSRA and across South Carolina. For individuals and families in this region who want their investments to reflect their values, the firm offers a local, advisor-led relationship rather than a remote or automated experience.
Robert Freitas brings 20 years of experience in financial services and a commitment to making sure the planning process — including how you invest — stays consistent with what matters most to you. Whether your values are rooted in faith, in specific social or environmental concerns, or in both, the goal is a portfolio that you can stand behind.
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) / Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing has certain risks based on the fact that the criteria excludes securities of certain issuers for non-financial reasons and, therefore, investors may forgo some market opportunities and the universe of investments available will be smaller.
How Values-Based Investing Fits Your Plan
Values-based investing does not exist in isolation from the rest of your financial picture. At Freitas Wealth Management Group, portfolio decisions are coordinated with your broader financial plan — income, savings goals, risk tolerance, timeline, and giving — so that your investments work alongside your plan rather than alongside it in a separate silo. Below are the key planning areas where values-based investing most often comes into the conversation.
Financial Planning
A comprehensive financial plan accounts for your full picture — income, savings, giving, debt, taxes, and long-term goals. For clients who want their investments to reflect their values, the planning process ensures that the portfolio strategy is consistent with those priorities rather than decided independently of them.
Retirement Planning
Values-based investing is not just a strategy for younger investors. Clients approaching or entering retirement often have strong views about what their accumulated assets represent — and want a portfolio that reflects those views as much as their income needs do. Robert helps you think through both.
Portfolio Management
Ongoing, advisor-managed portfolios built around your timeline, your risk tolerance, and — when it matters to you — your values. For clients who want a values-based approach, portfolio construction draws on screened investment models, including options from Eventide Asset Management, coordinated with your broader financial plan.
Biblically Responsible Investing
For faith-driven clients, values-based investing and biblically responsible investing (BRI) often overlap. BRI applies scripturally informed criteria to portfolio construction — intentionally excluding companies whose practices conflict with biblical principles and, where possible, including companies whose work aligns with them. Robert’s CKA® training equips him to work through this approach with clients for whom faith is the primary lens.
Values-Based Investing FAQs
What is values-based investing?
Values-based investing — sometimes called socially responsible investing (SRI) or sustainable investing — is an approach that integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions. It allows you to pursue financial goals while investing in companies that align with your personal beliefs and have a positive impact on society and the environment.
Do I have to have faith-based values to use this approach?
No. While values-based investing is a natural fit for faith-driven clients, the approach is available to anyone who wants their investments to reflect their convictions — whether those are rooted in faith, environmental concern, social impact, or ethical governance. The framework adjusts to what matters to you.
What is Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI)?
Biblically Responsible Investing — sometimes called Faith Driven Investing (FRI) — is a values-based approach that applies scripturally informed criteria to portfolio construction. In practice, it typically means excluding industries or companies whose practices conflict with biblical principles, and where possible, prioritizing companies whose work aligns with them. It is one specific application of the broader values-based investing framework, designed for investors whose convictions are grounded in their faith.
Does values-based investing mean lower returns?
Not inherently — but it does change the investable universe. Because values-based strategies exclude certain securities for non-financial reasons, the available pool of investments is smaller, and the portfolio may perform differently than a broad-market benchmark in any given period. Research has suggested that companies with strong ESG practices may perform competitively over the long term, but there are no guarantees. Robert walks every client through the tradeoffs openly so the decision is fully informed.
What is the difference between ESG and Biblically Responsible Investing?
Both apply non-financial criteria to investment decisions, but they use different frameworks. ESG focuses on environmental, social, and governance factors as defined by largely secular standards. Biblically responsible investing screens against criteria grounded in scripture — the priorities, exclusions, and convictions involved are different. A faith-driven investor may find that some ESG portfolios overlap with their values and others do not, which is one reason a dedicated BRI approach exists.
How does values-based investing fit into a broader financial plan?
At Freitas Wealth Management Group, portfolio decisions are always coordinated with the broader financial plan — income, savings, giving, timeline, and risk. Values-based investing is not treated as a separate product but as one part of a plan that reflects who you are and what you are working toward. That integration is what makes the approach meaningful rather than cosmetic.
Start the Conversation
If you are ready to explore values-based investing in South Carolina, reach Robert directly to schedule a consultation. He works with clients in Aiken, Lexington, and throughout the CSRA.
rfreitas@freitaswmg.com | 803-393-2441