What is values-aligned investing, and how can Canadian Christian investors approach it?
Biblically informed investing helps Canadian Christian investors align their portfolios with their values while still pursuing long-term financial goals. As demand grows, advisors need a clear way to explain the approach, address credibility concerns, and show how Capstone's funds are structured.
Canadian investors are increasingly interested in values-aligned and biblically informed investing.
Capstone's biblically informed funds combine active management, biblical research, and transparent governance.
Read on to see how advisors can answer this demand with a Canadian solution.
Canadian investors want portfolios that reflect their values as well as their financial goals. That’s what the recent data show. According to the Responsible Investment Association's 2026 Investor Opinion Survey, interest in responsible investing remains strong, but many investors still say their advisors don’t raise the topic.
Many clients are not asking to replace financial discipline; they are asking for a conversation about whether their investments can align with their convictions as well as their fiscal objectives. For advisors, that creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
What this growing interest tells us is that investors want to reach their financial goals without putting their consciences aside. They want returns and peace of mind. That is something advisors need to recognize, and it is a conversation Capstone Asset Management is having regularly.
As Maria Dawes, Portfolio Manager at Capstone Asset Management, shared on the Parallel Wealth Podcast hosted by Adam Bornn:
"When I meet with clients, it's hard to transition out of that financial conversation because you're so focused. You have a limited amount of time and you're focused on fiduciary responsibility, risk alignment, and financial objectives. But there is another side of the equation where your client simply won't have peace of mind if they find out they're invested in something that goes completely against what they believe."
Capstone saw that gap and built a solution designed to address it.
Why Canadian Christian Investors Are Looking for Values-Aligned Portfolios
That said, for many advisors, knowing where to start with these conversations is the real challenge. It can feel like complicated territory, as it means client conversations take on something of a moral, philosophical, or theological tone. But more and more, investors want to go there in discussions about their portfolios. They are looking for help charting the path from what they believe about politics, human rights, technology, education, and more, to a growing portfolio that does not exist contrary to those beliefs.
Across the broader market, terms like responsible investing, values-aligned investing, and faith-based investing are often used interchangeably, but the underlying demand is simple: investors want help aligning money with meaning. Capstone's approach gives advisors a Canadian option that speaks directly to that need.
As Maria put it:
"Everybody has a world view. Everybody has things that are really important to them. And if your investments can align with those values, think of the type of impact that your money can make in the world. We can get behind really great companies that are making good products that are helping people flourish."
For clients who hold a Christian worldview, this often runs deeper than most investment conversations. Canadian Christian investors want to feel that their investments are consistent with themes of stewardship, family, and legacy. They want to support companies whose leadership, ethics, and governance reflect the principles they live by, and they want to feel that their investments are helping accomplish their financial goals and make a meaningful impact in the world God made and calls them to steward.
How Biblically Informed Investing Addresses Greenwashing and Credibility Concerns
The biblically informed investing space has also earned its share of scepticism, especially around greenwashing, vague labels, and unclear methods. That is why credibility matters as much as conviction.
Capstone addresses this by making the entire process visible. The Capstone Biblically Informed Overlay Policy sets out four guiding principles:
1) Valuing Human Life
2) Stewarding Creation Responsibly
3) Encouraging Human Flourishing
4) Applying Biblical Wisdom.
Those principles are then applied through a documented research process that evaluates holdings against specific biblical alignment criteria, including predatory lending, gaming, weapons manufacturing, excessive political and social activism, alcohol/cannabis/tobacco, human rights violations, adult entertainment, and abortion.
This is human-led research, not a computer-generated filter.
"There's been a lot of criticism that these filters are being used, these computer-generated filters,” said Maria. “We want to make sure that we are actively applying the principles and that we're using human beings to assess the values that we're trying to align with."
Capstone also partners with Brightlight Impact, an independent third party that performs analysis in addition to Capstone's own research. Brightlight adds an independent perspective to the decision-making process as a partner resource.
All research is then compiled and submitted to Capstone's Biblically Informed Overlay (BIO) Committee for review and approval. The BIO Committee is composed of four members with over 100 years of combined investment experience who review and vote on every stock selection from a biblical perspective. The committee includes one independent member who is external to Capstone. No stock enters the Capstone Biblically Informed Canadian Equity Fund or the Capstone Biblically Informed U.S. Equity Fund without BIO Committee approval.
That governance structure is designed to answer the trust question with transparency and repeatability.
How Capstone's Biblically Informed Funds Combine Faith and Financial Discipline
Values alignment is only part of the story. Advisors also need confidence that the portfolio is managed with proper investment discipline.
The Capstone Biblically Informed Canadian Equity Fund and the Capstone Biblically Informed U.S. Equity Fund are managed by the same experienced team at Capstone Asset Management that runs the Capstone Canadian Equity Income Strategy.
The investment process begins with traditional fundamental equity analysis using an active, value-oriented approach. Biblical research is layered on top of that financial foundation, so the process adds a values dimension without replacing financial judgement.
As Maria notes: "You don't always have to sacrifice financially to get behind organizations that have good convictions and that are playing those out in real life. But you do have to think a little harder and a little more critically about what you're investing in."
Your clients should not have to choose between their financial goals and their Christian values. Capstone's structure is built to offer both in one portfolio solution.
What Canadian Advisors Need to Know About Biblically Informed ETFs and Mutual Funds
The Capstone Biblically Informed Canadian Equity and U.S. Equity Funds are available in both mutual fund and ETF series, giving advisors and investors more than one access point. The ETF series trade on the TSX as TSX:BIVC and TSX:BIVU, representing Canada's first Biblically Informed ETFs. All series are available through registered dealers, and the multi-series structure means the funds are accessible regardless of the advisor's registration category.
For advisors serving Christian clients and faith-based institutions such as churches, foundations, and denominational pension funds, the due diligence materials are available. The process is transparent, the governance is documented, and the funds are built on the same foundation as the Capstone Canadian Equity Income Strategy.
The investors who want this conversation are already in your book. The question is whether you have a solution that can hold up when they ask.
To learn more or request due diligence materials, visit capstoneassets.ca or contact Capstone Asset Management directly.
Important Disclosures: Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses may be associated with investments in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed; their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. The simplified prospectus, fund facts, and ETF facts are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or consult with a registered investment dealer or advisor