Investing

Giving Back Through Your Investments - How to Choose Where to Invest

Giving Back Through Your Investments - How to Choose Where to Invest

Giving Back Through Your Investments - How to Choose Where to Invest

Zoe Team and Christopher P Van Slyke, CFP®, CKA® (Zoe Network Advisor)

5 min read

A financial advisor reviewing a plan with two clients at a table

Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways

  • Values-based investing lets you align your portfolio with personal beliefs to support or avoid specific business practices.

  • Choose from three main paths: managing individual stock picks, pooling money in value-focused funds, or using separately managed accounts.

  • Work with a financial advisor to balance your values with essential investment factors like diversification and risk tolerance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is values-based investing?

It is a strategy where you select investments that influence the behavior of companies or governments to match your personal worldview.

What are the three ways to invest based on values?

You can pick individual companies yourself, invest in funds like ETFs/mutual funds, or use a separately managed account for custom exclusions.

Do I have to choose just one method?

No, you can combine these approaches to better align your portfolio with your values, which is often a common strategy for wealthy households.

The purpose of values-based investing is to influence the behavior of businesses and governments with your investment choices. Your decisions will increase or decrease the price, raising or lowering the capital cost for the business/government.

How many times in a day do you think about “helping” people or making a positive impact in the world around you? Most of us genuinely believe in changing the world for the better. A financial strategy that can help you do that is values-based investing.

According to Morgan Stanley, “84% of investors say they’re interested in impact investing, or putting their money behind companies that make a positive difference in the world.” Impact investing has become more popular year to year. Choosing where to start is key if you’re interested in giving back through your investments.

What Patterns Govern Your Portfolio?

Today’s investors are highly engaged politically. Naturally, Americans’ political concerns extend to their investment preferences. For most, it is important to make sure that their hard-earned retirement capital is being used to support their worldview. They don’t want to invest in companies making products or supporting causes that don’t jibe with their views.

Carve the Path of Your Investments

How do we choose where to invest? First, let’s assume that all the other important investing parameters are taken care of. Things such as diversification, timeline, tax considerations, and risk tolerance. For the sake of this article, those things have all competently been attended to. The missing element is the incorporation of your values. How can we implement and maintain a values orientation for our investment strategy? More specifically, how do we incorporate values-based investing to screen out bad actors, monitor company behavior, and update the portfolio?

The First Yellow Brick Road: Values-Based Investing

The purpose of values-based investing, of course, is to influence the behavior of businesses and governments with your investment choices. Your decisions will increase or decrease the price, raising or lowering the capital cost for the business/government. This method gives you the most control because you have the choice to pick an individual company. Unfortunately, it does come with time commitment and the added burden of researching and choosing the investments. Monitoring all the securities over time can be a daunting task.

Be Proactive About Values-Based Investing

Detours Are Synonyms for Opportunities

If values-based investing feels like a daunting way to align your values to your investments, other alternatives can help you meet these goals. Values-focused funds, such as an ETF or mutual fund, are good options. While you won’t have as much control, you and other like-minded investors will have a louder voice. Why? Because you are pooling your money. As a result, you can potentially move the price. You can also use the media to pressure the investees to improve their behavior. The fund will also monitor the investment potential as well as the ethical behavior of your portfolio. This method gives you the least control but the most impact.

Right On Track

A third choice is to use a separately managed account where you can set the specific tone for the values decisions (i.e., no gambling, no fossil fuels) and have the ability to specifically exclude certain companies/countries from your portfolio. This option may give you the best of both worlds because you can participate in the larger values-based initiatives (Larger voice, PR, etc.) of the firm you are working with yet have much of the control you would have chosen or boost specific companies or governments. It’s the middle path.

The Bottom Line on Values-Based Investing

The three approaches are:

  • Do it yourself

  • Use a fund company

  • Use a separately managed account with specific client input.

It’s important to add that you can combine all three. This is especially true for wealthier households.

You’ve made it this far, which means you know what to do. Don’t wait. Start matching your values to your investments today. The process starts by asking the right questions. Who can you ask these questions to? Your financial advisor can help guide you through the time commitment required to invest in places where your values will be reflected.

Think of values-based investing as the butterfly effect. In the grand scheme of things, this might be a small time commitment. However, if done right, with the proper support and guidance, there may be various positive outcomes caused by your decisions.

The purpose of values-based investing is to influence the behavior of businesses and governments with your investment choices. Your decisions will increase or decrease the price, raising or lowering the capital cost for the business/government.

How many times in a day do you think about “helping” people or making a positive impact in the world around you? Most of us genuinely believe in changing the world for the better. A financial strategy that can help you do that is values-based investing.

According to Morgan Stanley, “84% of investors say they’re interested in impact investing, or putting their money behind companies that make a positive difference in the world.” Impact investing has become more popular year to year. Choosing where to start is key if you’re interested in giving back through your investments.

What Patterns Govern Your Portfolio?

Today’s investors are highly engaged politically. Naturally, Americans’ political concerns extend to their investment preferences. For most, it is important to make sure that their hard-earned retirement capital is being used to support their worldview. They don’t want to invest in companies making products or supporting causes that don’t jibe with their views.

Carve the Path of Your Investments

How do we choose where to invest? First, let’s assume that all the other important investing parameters are taken care of. Things such as diversification, timeline, tax considerations, and risk tolerance. For the sake of this article, those things have all competently been attended to. The missing element is the incorporation of your values. How can we implement and maintain a values orientation for our investment strategy? More specifically, how do we incorporate values-based investing to screen out bad actors, monitor company behavior, and update the portfolio?

The First Yellow Brick Road: Values-Based Investing

The purpose of values-based investing, of course, is to influence the behavior of businesses and governments with your investment choices. Your decisions will increase or decrease the price, raising or lowering the capital cost for the business/government. This method gives you the most control because you have the choice to pick an individual company. Unfortunately, it does come with time commitment and the added burden of researching and choosing the investments. Monitoring all the securities over time can be a daunting task.

Be Proactive About Values-Based Investing

Detours Are Synonyms for Opportunities

If values-based investing feels like a daunting way to align your values to your investments, other alternatives can help you meet these goals. Values-focused funds, such as an ETF or mutual fund, are good options. While you won’t have as much control, you and other like-minded investors will have a louder voice. Why? Because you are pooling your money. As a result, you can potentially move the price. You can also use the media to pressure the investees to improve their behavior. The fund will also monitor the investment potential as well as the ethical behavior of your portfolio. This method gives you the least control but the most impact.

Right On Track

A third choice is to use a separately managed account where you can set the specific tone for the values decisions (i.e., no gambling, no fossil fuels) and have the ability to specifically exclude certain companies/countries from your portfolio. This option may give you the best of both worlds because you can participate in the larger values-based initiatives (Larger voice, PR, etc.) of the firm you are working with yet have much of the control you would have chosen or boost specific companies or governments. It’s the middle path.

The Bottom Line on Values-Based Investing

The three approaches are:

  • Do it yourself

  • Use a fund company

  • Use a separately managed account with specific client input.

It’s important to add that you can combine all three. This is especially true for wealthier households.

You’ve made it this far, which means you know what to do. Don’t wait. Start matching your values to your investments today. The process starts by asking the right questions. Who can you ask these questions to? Your financial advisor can help guide you through the time commitment required to invest in places where your values will be reflected.

Think of values-based investing as the butterfly effect. In the grand scheme of things, this might be a small time commitment. However, if done right, with the proper support and guidance, there may be various positive outcomes caused by your decisions.

Disclosures: Zoe Financial, Inc. ("Zoe Financial") is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Zoe Financial provides investment advisory services and access to independent registered investment advisers through its platform. The information provided by Zoe Financial is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice or as an offer to buy or sell any security. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Clients should consult with their own financial, tax, or legal professionals before making any investment decisions. The material presented by Zoe Financial is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for personalized investment advice or as a recommendation or solicitation of any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Material presented has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Adviser cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Zoe Financial does not provide legal or tax advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as legal or tax advice. SEC Registration does not constitute an endorsement of Zoe Financial by the SEC nor does it indicate that Zoe Financial has attained a particular level of skill or ability. The sole purpose of this material is to inform, and it in no way is intended to be an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any security, other investment or service, or to attract any funds or deposits. Investments mentioned may not be appropriate for all clients. Before making any investment, each investor should carefully consider the risks associated with the investment, as discussed in the applicable offering memorandum, and make a determination based upon their own particular circumstances, that the investment is consistent with their investment objectives and risk tolerance. Lower expenses do not guarantee better investment performance. Certain information contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the performance of a fund may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements.

Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.


Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.

Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI

Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.

(646) 680-9244

support@zoefin.com

666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017

Copyright © 2026 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved

Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.


Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.

Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI

Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.

(646) 680-9244

support@zoefin.com

666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017

Copyright © 2026 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved

Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.


Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.

The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.

Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI

Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.

(646) 680-9244

support@zoefin.com

666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017

Copyright © 2025 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved