In this week’s founder interview, we’re bringing you Remen Okoruwa from Propify.
Without further ado…
Who are you and what do you do?
I am the co-founder & CEO of Propify. We help software teams quickly integrate into property management software like Yardi, RealPage, & Entrata using our unified API & integration-as-a-service infrastructure. We’re like Plaid for Commercial Real Estate.
What problem does your product/service solve?
Building PM software integrations is a massive headache for proptechs, property managers, as well as other vendors. It is a fragmented market, and the systems have old API technology, hard-to-read documentation, and minimal support. We reduce development costs, accelerate time to market, and help companies stop losing deals to property managers who require integration. We also help save on ongoing maintenance costs by keeping integrations up-to-date & allowing companies to offload their integration infrastructure to us.
What are you most excited about right now?
Despite the challenging macro environment in commercial real estate & homebuying, renting remains an increasingly popular lifestyle choice. And that means companies who serve the needs of renters & property managers across multifamily & SFR have a lot more growth ahead. And we are excited to support this new wave of proptech innovation.
What’s next for you?
Our focus for 2023 is growth. We completed Y Combinator earlier this year, which was an amazing launching pad That means supporting more customers with their integrations, as well as expanding our product capabilities to meet their needs even better.
What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?
Children’s education and food security. Hungry students struggle to focus, and that means the poorest families can be prevented from taking advantage of the doors that education can open. Through my wife, who is a director at the East African Children’s Fund, I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer and support their amazing efforts to feed and educate children in Kenya.
Thanks to Remen for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn.
We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop us a line ([email protected]).
Sometimes it can seem like banks always put profits over the people they serve, but several U.S. banks are committed to doing just the opposite.
I found 15 banks that shape their business models around community support and environmental sustainability. Many of them even qualify as B Corporations, which have to abide by legal requirements such as a diverse workforce, sustainable practices, and more.
What’s Ahead:
Overview of the best socially responsible banks
Bank or credit union
Best for
Are they a Certified B Corporation?
Unique feature
National Cooperative Bank
Cooperatives
No
Real estate mortgages for homeowners with low to moderate income
Southern Bancorp
Those who live in rural areas
No
Free financial education center
Amalgamated Bank
Those who support sustainable business
Yes
Donate your spare change with their “Donate the Change” program
Ando Savings
Tracking the effect of your investment
Yes
Auto-save by rounding up debit card purchases
BankPurely
Investing in planting trees
No
One tree is planted for every SavingPurely account opened
Aspiration Bank
Knowing how your spending stacks up to your values
Yes
Investment accounts with fossil fuel-free portfolios
Clearwater Credit Union
Montana small businesses
No
All-in-one banking options
Verity Credit Union
Entrepreneurs in underserved communities
No
Microloans
Virginia Community Capital (VCC)
Real estate entrepreneurs taking on eco-friendly construction projects
Yes
The Revolving Loan Fund that fills financial gaps for investors who can’t afford commercial financing
Central Bank of Kansas City
Tax help and Missouri residents
No
Incentives to invest in economically disadvantaged areas
Carver Federal Savings Bank
Those looking to help support the Black community
No
They donate to local communities
First Green Bank
Those in economically disadvantages areas
No
A loan plan for homeowners who wish to install solar panels
Mascoma Bank
Those living in low-income cities in New England
Yes
Loans for energy-efficient renovations
City First Bank
Those who want to support the development of low-income communities
Yes
Through CDARS, customers can make larger, FDIC-insured deposits
Beneficial State Bank
Those with less than perfect credit
Yes
Underwriters consider factors other than credit score
Best national banks for socially responsible banking
These banks have brick-and-mortar branches, but they’re large enough to have seamless online and mobile account services, as well as multiple resources for customers and borrowers.
National Cooperative Bank
The National Cooperative Bank began as a lender to business cooperatives that meet community needs, including grocery stores, health centers, nonprofits, housing co-ops, credit unions, and more.
Cooperatives remain their main lending focus, but NCB also specializes in real estate, mortgages for homeowners with low or moderate incomes, and loans for solar energy installation. They’ve branched into personal banking as well, and personal or commercial accounts can be opened online from anywhere in the United States.
Like many socially responsible banks, NCB prioritizes investments in renewable energy projects, and they don’t invest in fossil fuels.
Some of their standout features include:
Member of the Global Alliance of Banking on Values (GABV), a worldwide banking network with a commitment to economic and environmental sustainability.
Personal checking and savings accounts come with up to 0.50% Annual Percentage Yield (APY).
Retirement accounts include IRAs, Roth IRAs, and IRA rollovers.
Learn more about the National Cooperative Bank.
Southern Bancorp
Southern Bancorp is a huge organization with banking, lending, community development, and more services under its $1.1 billion-asset umbrella, but don’t let the size fool you — this bank provides big solutions for small communities, with a commitment to expanding opportunity in rural areas.
In addition to the basics like checking, savings, and lending, Southern Bancorp has a robust public policy advocacy division where they work to promote laws that have positive financial impacts on working families. There’s also a free financial education center with credit counseling and tax prep services.
Since Southern Bancorp is headquartered, and specializes in, the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta regions, physical branches are mostly in this region. But customers from anywhere in the U.S. can open personal or business accounts online.
The bank’s leadership demographic reflects the community it serves; the CEO and 50% of the board members are Black.
Their unique features include:
A Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
Certified B-Corporation or B-Corp — a designation reserved for organizations committed to responsible practices.
Personal checking and savings accounts, including accounts designed for specific financial goals.
Online banking is available anywhere with internet access.
Home, auto, and personal loans.
Learn more about Southern Bancorp.
Amalgamated Bank
Headquartered in New York and Washington D.C., Amalgamated Bank extends online checking and savings account access across the United States. They’re committed to sustainable business practices within their own walls. Employees earn a minimum hourly wage of $20/hour, above the federal minimum, and over 30% of employees are union members. The business strives to be 100% carbon-neutral in its operations.
Amalgamated makes its lending priorities clear from the start. They don’t lend to fossil fuel companies, weapons manufacturers, or private prison operators. Instead, they focus on lending to companies in the solar energy or sustainable food industries. If you invest with Amalgamated, you can opt for a portfolio that’s fossil-fuel-free.
And they’re the first major U.S. bank to endorse HR 40, the bill calling for a national commission to establish reparation payments for Black Americans.
Their standout features include:
Certified B Corp and member of the GABV.
Online personal checking and savings accounts with 0.10%-0.40% APYs.
Restart Checking accounts available for customers with poor credit.
Give-Back savings accounts donate half your interest (0.30% APY) to an organization of your choice.
An optional “Donate the Change” program rounds up your purchases and donates the change to a cause the bank selects.
Over 40,000 free in-network ATMs for customers outside NY and D.C.
Learn more about Amalgamated Bank.
Ando Savings
Ando is another bank that puts the environment front and center. They’ve pledged 100% of their investments to initiatives supporting sustainable practices, like agriculture and public transit.
Investors can track the effect of their own investment dollars in the Ando mobile app’s Impact Center, which traces financial impact across five categories including clean energy, sustainable transportation, and green buildings.
You’ll find the following with Ando:
Spending and savings accounts, as well as a Visa debit card, are available to anyone in the U.S.
Accounts have no fees or minimum balances.
Ando’s Count the Change program helps you “auto-save” by rounding up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and moving the difference from spending to savings.
Learn more about Ando.
Best online banks for socially responsible banking
These banks are fully digital — not only is the all-mobile bank trendy and convenient, but its format also allows the bank to live a little lighter on the earth, with no energy use from physical branches.
BankPurely
BankPurely is the digital arm of NYC-based Flushing Bank, a bank that invests most of its money in community initiatives. As a fully online operation, BankPurely has formal PayItGreen approval for reducing its paper waste and carbon footprint.
They’re currently partnering with Plant-It 2020 to plant indigenous trees in New York State. Ando is one of many socially progressive banks that works with a tree-planting organization, taking a small but important step to counteract climate change.
A few great features include:
Checking, savings, and money market accounts available, with up to 0.25% APY on savings accounts and 0.5% on money market accounts.
CDs are available with 0.55% APY, and Ando will plant a tree for every CD you open.
Learn more about BankPurely.
Aspiration
Aspiration is one of the best-known socially responsible online banks, with multiple account options for the conscious customer. Their “pay what’s fair” fee model for a basic checking account is a rare offering even for the most flexible banks (and yes, paying $0 in fees is an option).
Both the free and fee-based “Aspiration Plus” checking accounts give you a personal impact score to see how your spending stacks up against your values. Accountholders get 3%-10% cash back when they buy anything from Aspiration’s Conscience Coalition partner vendors — an incentive to shop for the greater good.
The bank is currently rolling out a credit card that will reward shoppers who make carbon-friendly financial choices.
Here are a few key features:
Certified B Corp and member of global environmental organization 1% for the Planet.
Aspiration Plus savings accounts ($5.99/month) offer up to 5.00% APY.
Investment accounts available with fossil fuel-free portfolios.
IRA retirement accounts.
As a donor, Aspiration prioritizes funding microloans for low-income recipients.
Learn more about Aspiration or read our full review.
Best regional banks and credit unions for socially responsible banking
Some regional banks offer online accounts to residents elsewhere in the U.S., while others are only open to residents of a certain state or region. Here’s a cross-section of ethical standouts across the country.
Clearwater Credit Union – Montana residents
As Montana’s largest CDFI and a member of Inclusiv, an organization serving residents in low-income communities, Clearwater Credit Union is making its mark nationally but keeping a local focus.
They loan primarily to local businesses and offer a solid selection of financial services to customers.
Here are a couple of great features they offer:
Checking and savings accounts are available.
Health savings accounts (HSAs), traditional IRAs, and Roth IRAs.
Personal, student, and car loans for borrowers.
Learn more about Clearwater Credit Union.
Verity Credit Union – Washington state residents
Verity is active in the local microloan business — one project they’ve funded is the Business Impact Northwest loan program, which gives a financial boost to entrepreneurs in underserved communities.
As an environmentally conscious credit union, they’ve hopped on board the solar installation funding train as well, providing loans to homeowners installing solar panels.
Some especially helpful features include:
Open an account online or through their branch locations.
Accounts can be managed online.
IRAs and 401(k) rollovers are available.
Learn more about Verity Credit Union.
Virginia Community Capital (VCC) – Virginia residents
VCC is the community development arm of VCC Bank, a state bank that’s also a certified B Corp. Food access is a VCC funding priority, and they work with businesses providing healthy, local groceries across the state.
As a real estate funder, VCC has a Clean Energy Financing loan program for entrepreneurs taking on environmentally friendly construction projects.
Some helpful features include:
The Revolving Loan Fund fills financial gaps for investors who can’t afford commercial financing.
Personal savings accounts have low $25 opening deposit minimums.
Checking accounts, CDs, and Roth IRAs are available.
Learn more about VCC.
Central Bank of Kansas City – Missouri residents; online banking for all U.S. residents
Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Central Bank of Kansas City focuses most of its efforts on the local economy. Their lending programs include New Market Tax Credits — incentives to invest in economically disadvantaged areas — and tax credits for developers building low-income housing.
Some exciting features are:
Checking, savings, and money market accounts have fully online options for non-local customers.
Personal accounts earn between 0.05% – 0.15% APY.
Brick-and-mortar banks forMissouri locals.
Learn more about the Central Bank of Kansas City.
Carver Federal Savings Bank – NYC, New England, and Mid-Atlantic residents
Carver Federal Savings Bank was founded in Harlem, NYC, and designed to strengthen Black communities, and the bank’s stayed true to this mission since 1948.
As a CDFI, they focus their donations on local initiatives, and they don’t invest in fossil fuels. Residents of eight states — CT, DE, MA, MD, NY, NJ, RI, and VA, as well as Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, PA — can open accounts with Carver.
Their key features are:
Interest-bearing checking and savings accounts.
A mobile banking app makes Carver accounts easy to access online.
Account fees are waived with minimum monthly balances.
Learn more about Carver Federal Savings Bank.
First Green Bank – Florida residents
First Green Bank is a local leader in “green” investments. They fund commercial and residential projects that meet environmental standards, and community initiatives that support sustainable development in areas like water and agriculture. They have a loan plan specifically for homeowners who want to install solar panels.
Here are some exciting features:
Florida residents have checking and savings account options, including interest-bearing sustainable savings.
HSAs, IRAs, and youth savings accounts are available.
Learn more about First Green Bank.
Mascoma Bank – New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine residents
Mascoma finances projects designed to revitalize low-income communities in Northern New England.
Local residents can take advantage of their suite of financial services, from the basic checking and savings accounts to mortgages and homeowner loans for solar or energy-efficient renovations.
Some key features include:
Three tiers of checking accounts are offered, and two earn interest.
Home equity loans and lines of credit, as well as traditional mortgages.
Emergency flood loans are available to cover storm-related damages.
Learn more about Mascoma Bank.
City First Bank – Washington, D.C. area residents
For individuals, nonprofits, and other businesses in or near Washington, D.C., City First Bank is a CDFI worth checking out. They give 80% of their loan funds to projects in low-income communities, and they’ve financed thousands of affordable housing units in a city where the cost of living is rising quickly. City First has even branched out to finance nonprofits across the Mid-Atlantic.
Some top-of-the-line features include:
Personal checking and savings accounts havecompetitive interest rates.
Customers can make larger, FDIC-insured deposits through CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Registry Service) and money market accounts.
Learn more about City First Bank.
Beneficial State Bank – Oregon, Washington, and California residents
Beneficial State Bank funds renewable energy, affordable housing, and other community projects across the Pacific Northwest. Their nonprofit Beneficial State Foundation is a vocal public policy advocate for progressive change in the banking system.
As a lender, Beneficial uses a nontraditional underwriting model that considers factors other than credit scores. They’re also a trustworthy stop for auto loans if you’re a Pacific Northwest resident with subpar credit.
Here are some of their features:
Checking and savings accounts are fully mobile.
Money market accounts and IRAs are available.
California residents can finance an electric or hybrid vehicle at affordable rates through Beneficial’s Clean Vehicle Assistance program.
Learn more about Beneficial State Bank.
Why choose a socially responsible bank?
A bank or credit union account might seem like a convenience-based choice, not a values-based one. But when you entrust a bank with your money, you’re implicitly supporting the projects the bank funds.
You can make a difference
As a consumer, you have the power to make choices that sway banks’ overall priorities. Banks want your business, and if more customers opt for banks that support community development or environmental causes (or avoid fossil fuel funding that contributes to climate change), the industry will take note that people want socially responsible banking.
It is safer in their hands
Your money’s also in safe hands — just because these banks have a “people over profit” focus doesn’t mean they don’t make a profit.
Along with the standard FDIC insurance protection guarantees, socially responsible banks are just as profitable (if not more so) than their competition, according to research by the GABV.
What makes a bank socially responsible?
The primary barometers of social responsibility for banks are their lending and investment choices.
Read more: Ethical Banking: What You Should Know About Socially Responsible Banks
Charitable donations and community service
Many, if not most, banks advertise their charitable donations and community services, but they may still fund projects that contribute to climate change or displace low-income residents. If you go beyond a bank’s self-promotion materials to their lending practices, you’ll get a sense of the bank’s true priorities.
Transparency about their investment donation
Another indicator of responsibility is the bank’s transparency about their investment and donation choices — ethical banks take their accountability to the public seriously. And many socially responsible institutions are working for economic equity, with programs designed to help low-income residents or borrowers from underserved communities.
Public commitment to social good
Some large national and regional banks have received accolades for public commitments to the social good. The Ethisphere Institute, a think tank that examines corporate responsibility, has rewarded U.S. Bank on their list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for seven straight years. Though awards from an outside organization don’t necessarily indicate a bank is truly making impactful, ethical choices, they can be a sign the institution is on the right track.
If you’re holding banks to the highest standard, however, you’ll look for certifications that indicate a deeper commitment. Every bank or credit union on this list is either a certified B Corp, a certified CDFI, or a member of the GABV.
Certified B Corporations
B Corporations have a legal obligation to meet certain requirements, including a diverse staff, a well-paid workforce, environmentally sustainable in-house practices, and more.
The B Corp certification needs to be renewed every two years and can be lost if the company changes its practices to focus more on profit than customers.
Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV)
The GABV is a small but impactful network of about 50 worldwide banks. Each bank has pledged to invest in its community, be transparent about its practices, and establish long-term client relationships.
Like B Corps, GABV members have to score well on a regular, detailed assessment of their ethical practices.
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
CDFIs may be banks or credit unions, but they earn their U.S. Treasury CDFI certification by financing projects in low- or moderate-income or traditionally underserved communities. This may mean lending to nonprofits, supporting affordable housing, or offering mortgages to aspiring homeowners denied by other lenders.
How to find a socially responsible bank
This list is a start, but there are many, many more banks and credit unions on the local level that have socially responsible goals.
Mighty Deposits is a great site for finding out how banks are spending their money — just type in your bank(s) and/or credit union(s) and find out what percentage of the bank’s funds get invested in community projects.
Mighty Deposits includes detailed spending breakdowns in categories for each bank. You can also search for a bank that doesn’t fund fossil fuels, a CDFI, or a bank owned by Black Americans.
The independent site Better Banking Options is another way to find community-focused banks.
If you want to know more about a bank’s political donations, including any national and local candidates the bank supports, Open Secrets has data on most large banks (and several of the smaller ones, too).
Summary
If you’re thinking about a bank switch, consider a bank that’s dedicated to socially responsible causes. With the variety of checking, savings, and investment features these banks offer, you’re likely to find a spot that meets your needs.
Historically, life insurance has been a taboo subject.
As humans, we’re hardwired to think we’ll live forever. Since discussing life insurance means we’re addressing our own mortality, far too many of us choose to avoid the situation altogether.
Fortunately, the tide appears to be turning as more and more families choose to buy coverage for their families.
A study from Life Happens and life insurance research and development agency (LIMRA) showed that over 106 million of American adults are in need of some type of life insurance coverage or more of it.
Further, the number of households with life insurance coverage decreased by 13% over the last decade.
Parents under 45 with children in the home are buying coverage at higher levels than ever. From 2010 to 2022, individual coverage for millennials under the age of 35 also grew by a whopping 48 percent.
While this is all good news, far too many families still don’t have enough life insurance coverage in place. As a 2022 study from Bankrate showed, nearly half of respondents said they had less than $100,000 in coverage, while 21 percent noted they had $21,000 in coverage or less.
While some coverage is better than nothing, for most families, this isn’t nearly enough.
Introducing Haven Life
Fortunately, there’s a new – and easy – way to purchase the right amount of term life insurance coverage for your family. With Haven Life, you can apply for a tailored life insurance policy online and get coverage in a matter of days – or even hours.
Better yet, you can purchase a Haven Life term life insurance policy on top of the life insurance coverage you already have. So, if you have a life insurance policy through your employer, you don’t have to give it up. Best of all, term life insurance typically coverage costs a lot less than you think.
But, why Haven Life? First off, Haven Life only sells affordable term life insurance. With Haven Life, you’ll never have to endure a long sales speech about whole life insurance that costs an arm and a leg.
Since Haven Life only sells term coverage, you can shop for the coverage you want without worrying about cheesy salesman or absurd pricing. Keep in mind, a 35-year-old man could buy $500,000 in term life insurance coverage for as little as $21 per month!
Another huge reason to shop for life insurance with Haven Life? You can apply entirely online. By clicking through to Haven Life’s online application page, you could be on your way to affordable life insurance coverage in minutes.
Simply fill out the application with your personal details, health information, and life insurance needs, and you’ll quickly find out how much you qualify for – and how much it costs.
And if you’re in perfect health, the news could be even better.
Because Haven Life offers InstantTerm – a type of policy that doesn’t require a medical exam – those with excellent health could apply for life insurance coverage and have a policy in place within hours. You don’t have to apply for an InstantTerm policy separately, either.
Once you fill out Haven Life’s application, you’ll find out whether you qualify for InstantTerm right away. Check to see if no exam life insurance for smokers applies to you.
If you do not qualify, you will have 90 days to go through the standard medical exam procedure that most other term life insurance companies employ.
Where you once had to sit in a stuffy insurance agent’s office to buy life insurance or get contacted by a bunch of agents through an online form, the online application process created by Haven Life has made buying a policy that much easier.
Better yet, you’ll get the same quality of coverage you would buy through a normal agent and you get coverage that is competitive with the rest of the industry, even those that require a medical exam.
With Haven Life, you can count on receiving:
A simple online application process
No medical exam for qualified, healthy applicants
Easy price and policy comparisons
An immediate decision with InstantTerm
Backing of Mass Mutual, an insurer with 160 years of experience
A plain language no commission policy
The Haven Life Online Application Process
Since you’re reading this review, you’re probably aware you need more life insurance coverage. While you’ve taken a positive first step in the right direction, you’re not done yet.
In order to receive the coverage your family so desperately needs, you need to move forward with the application process.
The good news is, the Haven Life online application process is simple – and with no strings attached. To get started, you’ll simply head to HavenLife.com and fill out some basic information on the home page.
From there, you’ll select the prompt that says “Apply Now.”
Once you begin your application, you’ll need to fill out some basic information about yourself, your income, your family, and your health.
Before you get started, here are some details you’ll need to have ready:
Name
Address
Income
Net Worth
Employment Status
Military Status
Criminal History
Driving History
Travel Plans
Tobacco Use
Alcohol Use
Health History
Social Security Number
Driver’s License Number
Once you submit the required information, you’ll get an answer immediately on whether you’re approved or not and how much your monthly premium will be.
In some cases, you’ll need to complete a medical exam to get coverage, but will still have coverage while the underwriting process takes its course.
Fort those who qualify with the best rate class, however, will likely qualify for an InstantTerm policy with no medical exam required. With Haven Life’s InstantTerm, you can apply for coverage in the morning and have a life insurance policy in place by afternoon.
How Much Does Term Life Insurance from Haven Life Cost?
While whole life insurance coverage can be prohibitively expensive, term life can be downright cheap. I filled out a few applications to work up some examples, and here’s what I found:
A 35-year-old woman in excellent health can buy a 20-year term policy with a death benefit of $500,000 for as little as $18.50 per month.
A 47-year-old man in excellent health can buy a 20-year term insurance policy for $500,000 for as little as $58.50 per month
A 26-year-old man can buy a 30-year term life policy for $250,000 for as little as $19.75 per month.
A 36-year-old woman can buy a 20-year policy for $750,000 for as little as $28 per month.
At the end of the day, the cost of your policy depends on factors such as your age, your health, and how much coverage you want to buy.
That’s why filling out a preliminary application with Haven Life is the best way to get started – you don’t know how much you could save unless you apply.
Even if you hope to buy a larger policy, it may be more affordable than you think.
On the other hand, Haven Life does have the right to deny applicants who have poor health or a higher risk of early death. And even if you’re quoted an affordable monthly rate, the true monthly premium of your policy could change once your medical exam results are read.
Fortunately, you are not required to purchase a term life insurance policy from Haven Life – even after you submit an application and complete a medical exam.
Also keep in mind that Haven Life offers quotes from competing insurers as well as their own. If you could find a better deal on term life insurance elsewhere, Haven Life will let you know.
Since term life insurance all works similarly, the best thing you can do is shop around among different issuers or at least compare prices before you buy. Haven Life makes this part easy by offering competing quotes directly on their own site.
Haven Life Plus
Haven Life has unveiled a new “rider” on their insurance plans, and it’s very different than most riders out there. You don’t get accelerated death benefit or anything like that. Instead, you’re getting additional benefits that you won’t get with any other carrier.
First, you’re getting legal services (wills and healthcare power of attorney) through Trust & Will. These services usually cost $129, but if you have a Haven Life insurance plan, you get them for free.
Next, you’ll get 15% off health care services at any MinuteClinic. These MinuteClinics are in CVS and Targets across the country. You don’t have to have an appointment and they are open every day.
Additionally, if you’re a Haven Life policyholder, you get a LifeSite membership for free. LifeSite is a secure and easy way to store all of your important documents and share them across multiple platforms and devices. A membership typically costs $80, but you get this for free with Haven Life.
The most interesting benefit of Haven Life Plus is the discount to use TeloYears. What is TeloYears? It’s an at-home DNA test which details your biomarkers. These biomarkers can outline some ways you can improve your health and point out any potential problems in your lifestyle.
Lastly, you’ll get a LifeLink subscription. The goal of LifeLilnk is to make calling emergency services as easy and simple as possible. If you’re ever in an emergency, LifeLink allows you to get in touch with emergency services with just one button. After the call is over, your emergency contacts will be automatically contacted.
All of these benefits are included in the cost of your plan. You won’t have to pay extra for the benefits. Haven Life wants to help you live your best life, not just provide coverage after you pass.
What are People Saying About Haven Life?
Although Haven Life launched in May of 2015, they have already built an excellent reputation among both consumers and life insurance ratings agencies.
This is partly because Haven Life is owned by MassMutual, an insurer with 160 years of experience in the life insurance business.
As of February 2023, MassMutual and its subsidiaries C.M. Life Insurance Company and MML Bay State Life Insurance Company were rated by A.M. Best Company as A++ (Superior; Top category of 15).
Of course, ratings aren’t nearly as important as firsthand reviews and experience. Fortunately, I know one person who saved almost 50 percent on her premiums when she bought a 20-year term policy for $1,000,000 last year.
Where another company quoted her $60 per month for coverage, a policy with Haven Life came in at just $28 per month.
Haven Life on Trust Pilot
Trust Pilot also offers a range of ongoing reviews from new Haven Life customers. Here are some of the reviews consumers have left:
“The experience with Have Life was excellent. The process was very easy and not burdensome. The response was quick and not drawn out like I experienced with other life insurance companies.” – Tiffani
“Can’t say enough good comments about this product and the ease, no hassle experience with this company. Their website is very easy to use which made it easy to decide exactly what I wanted. A couple of emails back and forth, a 20-minute visit by the nurse to for the medical checkup and that was it. No pressure, no trying to steer me to a different product, can’t beat it!” – William
“The process of buying life insurance through Haven Life was great. I dreaded going to see a financial advisor who would try to sell me on products I didn’t want or need. This was a perfect alternative to that process and took less than 30 minutes to complete. If you know what your looking for and don’t want the hassle of a salesman trying to upsell you, Haven Life is perfect.” – Benjamin
How Much Life Insurance Should I Buy?
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who have some life insurance coverage, you might wonder whether buying more is a good investment. Keep in mind that most experts suggest buying at least 5-10x your income in life insurance coverage. If you earn $50,000 per year, for example, you’ll want to have at least $250,000 – $500,000 in place.
While this is a good place to start, many experts believe you need a whole lot more.
Fortunately, Haven Life offers a life insurance calculator you can play around with to get an idea of how much coverage to buy. Based on your answers to a series of questions, you can get a general range of coverage that will adequately protect your spouse and kids.
While there are numerous reasons to load up on life insurance coverage, here are some of the main life expenses your policy needs to cover:
Income Replacement – If you or your spouse were to pass away early, you would need to make sure your life insurance policy was adequate to replace your income during your working years.
College Tuition – If you have children and want them to attend college, it’s important to consider this expense when you buy life insurance. With enough coverage in place, you could get your kids through college debt-free.
Mortgage Payments – Whether you have the typical thirty-year mortgage or a loan with a shorter term, it’s important to consider how this loan will be paid off if you died. Consider adding enough life insurance to pay for your mortgage in its entirety upon your death.
Funeral Expenses – Passing away before your time is both tragic and expensive. Depending on the type of funeral your family plans, they might need to spend $10,000 or more. Make sure your life insurance policy is large enough to cover funeral expenses in addition to everything else.
Children’s Expenses – Kids are expensive, and they only get more expensive as they age. If you have children at home, make sure you have plenty of coverage to pay for daily living expenses, college tuition, sporting events, weddings, and more.
Who Can Get a Haven Life Policy?
If you’re thinking about getting a Haven Life term life insurance policy, you’re in luck. Currently, the insurer sells affordable term life insurance in 48 states plus the District of Columbia.
They’re not yet available in California or Montana, but they hope to change that soon.
To qualify for a policy, you must meet medical standards or pass a medical exam set up by Haven Life. You should be at least 18-years-old but younger than 65. You also need to meet the following qualifications:
Be a non-military U.S. citizen
Have a valid driver’s license
Not intend to use the policy for business purposes or to replace another policy
Financial Strength of Haven Life
The financial strength of Haven Life is evidenced by the fact that it is backed by the 150-year-old MassMutual, a leading provider of life insurance and retirement products.
With over $500 billion in assets, MassMutual has maintained an A++ rating from AM Best for nearly two decades, making it one of the most highly rated life insurers in the US. Additionally, Haven Life is licensed to sell life insurance in all 50 states and also holds licenses with other jurisdictions.
RATING AGENCY
RATING
OUTLOOK
A.M. Best Company
A++ Superior
Stable
Fitch Ratings
AA+ Very Strong
Stable
Moody’s Investors Service
Aa3 High Quality
Stable
Standard & Poor’s
AA+ Very Strong
Stable
The Bottom Line – Haven Life Insurance
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If you’re thinking of buying a term life insurance policy, don’t delay.
The younger you are when you buy a policy, the more affordable your monthly premiums will be. And if you should happen to become sick, you’ll have peace of mind knowing you already have the life insurance coverage you need.
To get started, visit Haven Life’s home page to begin the quick and simple process of applying online. Within a matter of minutes, you should have a general idea of whether you’ll qualify, how much coverage you can buy, and how much your monthly premiums will cost.
You may not want to talk about life insurance, but you do need to act. Buying an inexpensive term policy is the best way to protect your family today, tomorrow, and always.
Do you have term life insurance coverage? How much did you pay?
Haven Life offers a refreshing approach to life insurance, making the process of purchasing a policy easier and more convenient for consumers. The company provides a user-friendly online platform where you can quickly compare different life insurance options, determine your coverage needs, and apply for a policy. The application process is straightforward and easy to complete, with no medical exams required in many cases. One of the standout features of Haven Life is the use of technology to streamline the life insurance experience. From the online platform to the automated underwriting process, everything is designed to make the process as fast and hassle-free as possible. Customers also appreciate the ability to manage their policy online, view account information, and make payments with ease.
Cost and Fees
Customer Service
User Experience
Overall
4.3
Pros
Convenient online process: Haven Life makes it easy to purchase a life insurance policy online, with a simple and straightforward application process.
No medical exams required: In many cases, Haven Life does not require a medical exam for approval of coverage, making it a convenient option for those who are healthy and do not want to go through a medical exam.
Affordable: Haven Life offers competitive life insurance rates, making it a cost-effective option for many consumers.
Access to financial advice: Haven Life provides customers with access to financial advice and support, helping them make informed decisions about their coverage and overall financial health.
Cons
Limited coverage options: Haven Life primarily offers term life insurance, which may not meet the needs of everyone. If you are looking for a more comprehensive coverage solution, you may need to consider a different company.
Online process may not be for everyone: While the online process can be convenient for some, it may not be ideal for those who prefer to work with a human agent.
Potential for higher premiums: If you have pre-existing health conditions, you may be charged a higher premium for life insurance coverage, which could make it more expensive than other options.
Newer company: Haven Life is a relatively new company in the life insurance market, which may make some customers hesitant to work with them.
LifeHappens.org (2022 April) Owning Life Insurance Provides a Clear Path to Financial Security Retrieved from https://lifehappens.org/research/owning-life-insurance-provides-a-clear-path-to-financial-security/
MassMutual.com (n.d.) Financial Performance and Insurance Ratings Retrieved from https://www.massmutual.com/about-us/massmutual-financial-summary
Trust Pilot Haven Life Review (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.trustpilot.com/review/havenlife.com
The 2022 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (2022) Retrieved from https://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/TIAA-Institute-GFLEC-2022-Personal-Finance-P-Fin-Index.pdf?x59497
Cristin Fitzpatrick graduated from The University of Connecticut with a B.A. in Psychology has studied Organization Development at a Masters Level at American University and is a Certified Professional Coaching graduate from one of the country’s leading coaching schools. She has over 10 years of experience in the real estate and mortgage industry and works at our Ridgefield branch.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work? My boys! Providing for them and being a role model. And knowing that I can help someone acheive the dream of homeownership.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Watching my kids soccer and rugby games, hiking and spending time with friends and family…especially when we’re laughing!
What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this? I’d be a motivational speaker and inspire people to go after their dreams. I’d also make a good detective.
If you could have any superpower what would it be and why? To be able to fly! Who wouldn’t want to know the freedom of flight…and gas is getting expensive! 😉
What’s your favorite food? Strong coffee, fruit and scones in the morning and chopped salad any other time of day If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you would do? I’d book a flight to Italy, rent a Porsche and drive through the country stopping for cappuccino, great food and arts and culture. Ciao!
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be and why? Sing! I love music- it makes me happy! If someone was going to visit your hometown, what is one local spot you’d suggest they visit and why? Go to Gruel Britannia and order coffee (nice and strong), scones and some classic English breakfast sandwiches to go and head over to Sasco beach to enjoy them. Stepping into GB makes you feel like you’ve crossed the pond to England and the food is fantastic. The drive to Sasco is beautiful and the view from there is fantastic. A morning out will feel like a mini vacation.
What’s your favorite thing about working at Total Mortgage? The commitment the company has to supporting and encouraging the employee’s success and to having fun and celebrating!
Homebuilders, whose sentiment hit the midpoint mark of 50 earlier this month for the first-time since July 2022, have yet another reason to celebrate. The sales pace of new homes has also increased for the fifth consecutive month, according to data published on Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
In April, the sales pace of new homes rose 4.1% compared to March, hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 683,000. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were up 11.8%.
“Demand for newly built homes has been strong amidst the historically low inventory of existing homes for sale,” Lisa Sturtevant, the chief economist at Bright MLS, said in a statement. “This spring, new home sales are a more important part of the market than they would be in a more typical year. In April, new single-family home sales were about 14% of total home sales nationwide. Typically, sales of new single-family homes account for less than 10%.”
While the national inventory of single-family homes is down more than 50% compared to the level in early May 2019, the inventory of new homes for sale at the end of April (433,000 homes) is up 30% compared to the end of April 2019.
However, experts note that the existing home inventory trough won’t last forever.
“The inventory of existing homes is so low because so many people are “locked in” to rock bottom mortgage rates, but the “locked-in” effect should ease somewhat in the coming months,” Sturtevant said. “While rates are not expected to drop significantly, individuals and families who have been putting off moving will decide they have waited long enough. The uptick in new construction will help these more discretionary movers because now they see more options available.”
Although the sales pace increased in April, the median sales price fell slightly to $420,800, compared to $449,800 in March, as builders continued to utilize price drops and incentives to entice buyers.
“The backlog of new construction homes started in the last year or so is making its way online and most builders and projects are offering some incentives to offset affordability constraints,” Nicole Bachaud, Zillow’s senior economist, said in a statement. “This is helping to bump up new home sales at a time when existing home sales are sliding.”
Regionally, the sales pace was up in the Midwest (76,000 homes) and the South (443,000 homes) on a month-over-month basis, with the South recording the larger increase at 17.8%.
The West (140,000 homes) and the Northeast (24,000 homes) fell on a monthly basis, recording decreases of 9.1% and 58.6%, respectively.
On a yearly basis, the Northeast (-46.7%) and the West (-2.8%) again recorded drops, while the Midwest (20.6%) and the South (23.4%) recorded increases.
This is the first of a planned series in which I interview friends and family about their attitudes toward money. Most of these will be anonymized (and much shorter). Some will not. This first interview is with Scott Durbin, a member of Imagination Movers, a rock band for kids. This band is an entrepreneurial venture that required a huge leap of faith.
Scott, what made you and the other Movers decide to form a band? And why a band for kids?
Once you get into your 30s, you begin to feel opportunities to be creative evaporating. This time in our lives is often devoted to starting families, working for the company, paying bills to stay above the proverbial water, or working on our various relationships (wife-husband, boyfriend-girlfriend, other). I could get philosophical about the conflict and guilt of doing something seemingly self-indulgent versus being a good father/husband/worker, but let’s save that for another day. Luckily I have an amazing wife!
Several forces led to the founding of the Imagination Movers.
1. First, the guys in the group are very creative fellows. Creativity bubbles to the top given an opportunity.
2. Strangely enough, having families created an environment that allowed us to pool our creativity. That and proximity. When the Movers started, we lived within walking distance from one another. We all started having kids at the same time (minus Smitty who is the Mover without children). Kids have birthday parties. Parents gather. A ritual is established, and instead of going to bars or wherever to hang out with your mates, you’re left with your two-year-old’s birthday party as a means of convening. But it’s all good. These gatherings became the second peice of the puzzle.
3. When you have kids, you are immediately introduced into a foreign culture. You acclimate yourself as best you can, discovering the latest coolest educational toys, kids’ music, enrichment opportunities, places to play or visit, restaurants where kids eat free, any video/audio that might make your kids smarter — the whole kit-n-kaboodle. You discover your children want to listen to something over and over and over and over and over again, so as a survival parent, you want to make sure you can tolerate whatever that music is. This was the third key to development of the Imagination Movers.
4. Meanwhile, my wife has a friend who works at the local PBS affiliate. My wife’s friend often asks me to participate in commercials or promos they do. So there I am dancing for a commercial advertising the station’s fundraiser, a Beer Tasting Fest. The commercial is a hit, so I am receiving a lot of local affiliate PBS love which I put on the shelf for later use. This is a fourth thread. (All these threads will come together, so stay with me.)
5. Finally, I am a huge fan of Mister Rogers and Captain Kangaroo — people who possess a sincere desire to better the lives of their audiences and an almost palpable integrity that assures you they are not full of crap. And on top of that, they are REAL and not cartoons. I love cartoons just as much as the next guy, but heck, you know live action children’s entertainment is needed. A cartoon can only model so far or translate so much. It’s two-dimensional. So when Fred Rogers passed away, I felt called to take his place. Sounds crazy, but that become this nagging gut thing for me. I wanted to create a local kids’ show that treated kids like people and not consumers. This was the last factor in the band’s creation.
So here’s where the threads start coming together:
I mention that I want to start a local kid’s show to my wife’s friend at the local PBS affiliate.
I talk about the idea with my friends (and future Movers) at parties or the local grocery (the neighborhood essentially).
As I begin waxing, I arrive at a name for the show — “Imagination Movers” — and a broad concept that Movers work in the other-worldy land of imagination, and it’s the job of a Mover to bring people good ideas when they have idea emergencies.
I pitch the initial notion to the guys at a party. They’re in. We start writing a treatment/script in the attic of Dave’s house that we plan to pitch to the local PBS station. As we work on the show, music becomes a cornerstone. Rich and Smitty whip out the guitars and jam. Since the first script is about ‘healthy snacks’, most of the songs are in that vein. Well, we start writing songs and sometimes play them at get-togethers. People love the songs. Really love the songs.
We pitch the show to the local PBS affiliate and they love it, but with PBS-type entities, they have NO money. We are disappointed, but everyone loves the songs. So Rich decides to invest in a home studio and we begin recording the music we wrote for the show.
The rest is Mover history.
So why did we become a kids’ band? For the most part, our children/families were where we were, and what we were about, so our songs became part observations of our lives, part honoring our wee ones (and hopefully creating something meaningful for other wee ones), and a sincere desire to be the new Mr. Rogers. But in our case, Mr. Rogers has been divided into four parts, and instead of wearing a cardigan … wears blue coveralls.
What was your family’s financial situation at the time you started the Imagination Movers?
At the time the Movers started, I was entering my sixth year of teaching. Picture if you will, being the ‘bread winner’ on a teacher’s salary. Ahhh, the luxury of it all. My better half worked full time-ish as an office manager for a web firm and was earning a little less than me. Our income, however, was supplemented by a rental property. Even so, we rented to friends and consequently asked for $150 month lower than market value for the area.
Having two wee ones, we were quite honestly living paycheck to paycheck. We had some credit card debt but nothing crazy.
Our biggest financial problem — and this sounds strange — was vacations. Here’s the recurring scenario: we would finally get ourselves into some kind of financial stability and then boom, we would go on a family vacation and put ourselves right back into a mini-hole. Not trying to shift blame from self, but ‘we’ were not as frugal when it came to vacations as we should have been. My wife having been raised in a close knit family that always took summer vacations, was pretty adamant that we take similar family vacations. The problem with vacations is that you’re more apt to splurge thus obliterating your vacation budget. It’s the mentality of saying to yourself, “Hey, we’re on vacation! We won’t be able to do this for awhile or eat this good or whatever.” And soon enough, your food budget no longer exists and you’re stuffing your face with $20 crab cakes. Viva la vacation!
How did starting the Imagination Movers affect your personal finances?
For a while, everything we did was out of personal pocket. As the organic nature of our project began to take root and blossom, it was clear that some kind of real investment needed to be made so our Big Ideas could be realized. That investment was a gut check: it meant we needed to use more of our own money. So began the Movers. Honestly, everything we did — from purchasing blue suits to buying equipment (such as a PA and wireless mics) to investing in a home studio — came from the pockets and sacrifices of Rich, Scott, Dave and Smitty. The great part is that we so believed in what we were doing that money, time and energy aligned themselves and we went into overdrive.
Rich and I were the initial big investors. Dave and Smitty pitched in when possible. Rich took the burden of financing a home studio, which led to the biggest collective cost we faced early on: the creation of our first audio release, Good Ideas. Taking into account the manufacturing of the CDs, paying someone to master them, and PR, we were looking at a few thousand dollars head-on. We didn’t have much disposable income, but we found the money. (I think Smitty sold plasma. I sold balloon animals. Dave panhandeled and Rich washed cars.)
All in all, to get the Movers started, we had to get out the shovel and dig into savings so the machine could begin to turn. Our first big hope was that sales from the CD and early shows would allow us to reap what we sowed. Either we’d get back what we paid into the project, or allow the money we made to lead us to other opportunities. The latter became the yellow brick road.
So to answer your question: my personal savings was hit, parts of my home were converted (putting up shelves for inventory, setting up a network system, getting filing cabinets), and little costs (mailers, paper, postage) sometimes cut to the bone. Instead of buying a six pack or going to a movie, my disposable income went to buying CDs and labels to burn early demo copies for people.
How did you and the other guys feel about this? It sounds to me exactly as if you’ve been starting a business. Do you feel this way too?
We had big ambitions from the start. Although it seemed like a great side project, we secretly treated it as an opportunity to become self-employed and as such worked it like it was a small business. I took on the role as visionary, aspiring to some very lofty goals.
When our demos turned into real products, the fire was lit and we added more goals: creating a coloring book based on one of the songs, printing t-shirts, looking to establish distribution for our burgeoning product line. You name it, and we were plotting it. We even financed a trip to Toy Fair in New York in an attempt to introduce the world to the Movers.
I will say we were smart about resisting investment from outside of the group. Some financial advice we received led us to just say no to third party investors. I remember something about us selling securities in the group if we did so; in other words, we’d be opening ourselves up to a very complicated financial and legal world.
We also had some great friends who encouraged us to form a business plan. Sounds incredible impetuous, but we formed an LLC, met with local business leaders (Idea Village, a business incubator in New Orleans), and started working on goals.
Naturally, guys in the group participated in the project as best they could. Some did much more than others, but we were aware of the sweat equity certain people were giving early on. Rich and I were in working situations that allowed us to devote more time to the project than Dave and Smitty. Dave was working hard as an architect and Smitty as a fireman. We were — and still are — doing something that we loved, so turning it into a business simply allowed us to keep everything on the up and up, as well as kept us organized.
Scott, how did Hurricane Katrina affect the Imagination Movers? How did it affect your personal financial situation?
Katrina, without question, was a reminder of just of fragile we are; how life can turn on a dime with very little warning. Its effects were truly devastating, but with destruction there comes new life and so it was with my family personally and the Movers professionally. First off, Katrina destroyed three Mover homes and most (if not all) possessions. Here is a picture taken near our home a few days after the levees broke.
Keep in mind, most of this water stayed around for days. Sadly enough, photographs, videos of a child’s birth — you name it — met a watery and moldy grave. Actually, it went further than that — it destroyed the neighborhood. The places you went to have coffee, ‘make’ groceries, the church you attended or the school you dropped your kids off were gone. In the blink of a wink, everything you saw for miles became ghost-like. Even today — more than a year plus after — empty houses, lonely streets, lost neighborhoods now whisper for anyone, anything to bring them back to their former selves.
The Mover office was also trashed. Countless CDs, coloring books, musical instruments were ruined. And guess what? The Movers didn’t have insurance. We had liability insurance, but we were so small and Mom-and-Pop-ish that we hadn’t needed more insurance — or so we thought.
Luckily Smitty lived on the West Bank, so although his home experienced minor wind damage, it escaped the destruction. The material things naturally hold memories, but not life and our thoughts focused on the well being of him and others like him soon after Kat hit.
Right after the disaster, everyone was reeling from the new reality we were forced into and for all intent and purpose had not processed the extent to which our lives would change, but we knew at the very least we did have the Movers. In particular, the Movers had two shows booked in Texas, one in Dallas on the Labor Day weekend and another in Plano. With the exception of Smitty (who was knee deep in search and rescue), we all rallied and went to Texas to fulfill our obligation. Quite honestly, no one knew about their jobs or future income or anything. All we could see in front of us was a small payday and so we went with quite honestly the clothes on our back. We had no instruments, no Mover suits — nothing, but we went. And we played. Here is a picture of the Mover suits we used in place of our trademark royal blue ones. Note: Kyle is our ancillary Mover and plays drums for live shows with us.
Life afterwards was surreal. We no longer had a place to live. My family lived with my parents and my brother and his girlfriend in a tiny house with one bathroom in Lafayette, Louisiana (about two hours west of New Orleans). My job as a teacher was in limbo. I spent time in line for food stamps and wondered what queer curiosity tomorrow would bring. All the while I was still a dad and husband and the well-being of my family was paramount to everything I did. I’m sure the rest of the Movers felt the same way.
Personally speaking, my family received help from people we knew and didn’t know. Friends sent us giftcards for bookstores so we could buy the kids books as our wee ones love to read. Other friends and people we didn’t even know sent assistance of clothing and toys and hope. Churches helped. Companies helped. People helped us restore the basics. The Movers too received emails of support and even a guitar was sent. The emails, for the Movers sake, really kept the project going. The simple act of someone somewhere taking the time to share with us how important what we did — musically speaking — meant in the lives of their children (many whom were going through the same situation as us) humbled us. Buckled our knees. We knew. We knew we had to continue despite the overwhelming sense of powerlessness we all felt.
All in all, looking back, I am a better person. Though I wouldn’t wish the ordeal on anyone — the goodwill (and Godwill) of so many showed taught me about selflessness and how truly to give of the heart. As for my personal financial situation, well I was unceremoniously dumped from my position as a teacher in an independent school in New Orleans. I hold no grudges but wished they would have done it with a little more humanity and compassion. It was a phone call and a FedEx package. Either way, no job meant no income and no health insurance. My wife had to go to work full time so we could have health insurance. Our situation was so transformed that we were unaware of what might happen next (food stamps, unemployment, ect). Lots of ‘what ifs’ came along. Lots of ‘how did we get here.’
On the good side, the reality of our immediate financial situation was: we forced ourselves to save, to tore up those proverbial nuts for winter. Some pluses included no longer having to pay some of our bills: electric, cable, water, etc. We did receive some emergency funds from Red Cross, FEMA and some monies from of our insurance companies. All in all, our financial situation was made very clear to us: the ins and outs of our money was front-and-center and we were forced to deal with our financial situation head on. Credit card debt — what to do about mortgage payments on a home we no longer lived in — paying rent, too — you name it. We dealt with how we were going to handle it, especially having lost my salary.
Since I had no job, the Movers became a full time gig. As it did with Rich and then later with Dave. Any reason we had not to jump headfirst into this venture disappeared and so we signed with Disney. What a crazy juxtaposition that is — you sign a deal with Disney and you still are having difficulty making ends meet. Most people believed we were rich once the Disney deal came — biggest misnomer you could ever imagine. Hopefully our financial situation will improve, but the fact is: reality and perception are clearly two different things. Our main source of income is not Disney. Instead it was and is playing live. It’s our favorite thing to do and so we do it — right now to survive financially and emotionally. As a sidebar: Major props to Music Rising as it was a Godsend. Without it, the Movers would be instrument-less.
It’s now been a year since Katrina. How are things now with the band? With your financial situation?
A year plus removed from Katrina, it seems everyone yearns for routine and normality. My life now is spent in a city two hours west of New Orleans. I am the only Mover who has not returned to NOLA. My family sold our house after having sat on it, hoping the city and state would give us reason to reinvest and rebuild. Translation: a plan of some kind or another. Unfortunately, they have failed miserably in my humble opinion. The local leadership has become invisible and crime has riddled a city in desperate need of hope.
The world wonders why the Saints meant so much to the city of New Orleans. The inside scoop: a simple football team allowed the city to be one, regardless of color or creed or financial state. It allowed all people to smile and be hopeful because the city itself didn’t offer those commodities.
Back to the Movers — We’ve been fortunate to have videos rolling on Playhouse Disney so it does raise our profile. We’ve been working our tales off to make half of what we were making as professionals: architect, journalist and teacher — so we could make this dream come true. Sidebar: Smitty still works as a fireman in New Orleans. Shows you our true reality. Even with that said, we have opportunity and that is all we can ask for. We finished a pilot presentation (we felt was incredible) and five new videos which will hopefully air soon. All of the filming was shot in LaPlace (which can be considered Greater New Orleans to some). We felt humbled to know that an idea we created was now employing 75-ish people, most of whom were from the local area. Good story. Gives you lumps in your throat.
As I type this, I really have no idea what the future holds — financial or otherwise. I just hope I can make my next payment! Money is, after all, like all the things lost in Katrina: it comes and goes. A person defined by money gets short-changed by life. Family and friends are what make life special.
Thanks to Scott for sharing his story. Look for more money interviews with other real people in the coming months.
To date, the Imagination Movers have released the following:
Compact Discs Good Ideas (2003), Calling All Movers (2004), Eight Feet (2005) DVDs Stir it Up (2005)
Want to hear what the Movers sound like? Here’s a song called “My Favorite Snack”. This song is popular among both the kids and parents we hang out with. You can find more mp3s for download at the Imagination Movers site.
Scott reports that the group has a brand new CD coming out on a major label in March. Want to hear what the Movers sound like? Here’s a song called “Clean My Room” that — among other things — reminds me of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion”. You can find more mp3s for download at the Imagination Movers site.
Thanks to Scott for sharing his story. It’s a great example of the need for emergency funds and the realities of entrepreneurship (and making money from hobbies). I hope to do more money interviews in the future. I’m exploring the idea of making these podcast-based. If you have any thoughts on this, drop me a line.
One of New York’s finest new residential buildings has recently unveiled its crown jewel.
Rising above West 23rd Street in trendy Flatiron District, Flatiron House is a two-building condo development that aims at bridging the gap between luxury city living and a much-needed connection to nature.
With planted and irrigated Juliet balconies in most of its residences, a lush central garden, and a distinct focus on biophilic design — a design philosophy centered around the idea that the indoors should mimic the great outdoors to improve people’s lives and enhance happiness — Flatiron House stands out from its concrete and glass counterparts.
Rendering courtesy of Wordsearch
Now in the final stages of development, Flatiron House was designed — both inside and out — by COOKFOX Architects, a leader in biophilic design, in collaboration with Anbau Development.
Drawing upon the aesthetic of its landmarked neighbors through a distinctly contemporary lens, Flatiron House consists of two residential buildings connected by a central garden.
The first, a more intimate structure dubbed ‘the Loft’, offers only seven one- to five-bedroom residences (many of which span the full floor with direct elevator access) and an entrance on 24th Street.
Rendering courtesy of Wordsearch
The second, and biggest, goes simply by ‘the Tower’, and consists of 37 one-to four-bedroom residences with a separate entrance on 23rd Street.
But the Tower too offers a full-floor residence: the 3,194-square-foot unit Residence 21A, the building’s most expensive home, which towers above downtown Manhattan offering 360-degree views.
Priced at $13,500,000, the full-floor home comes with 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a corner living / dining room with bright south and east exposures, and a perfectly-appointed kitchen.
Rendering courtesy of WordsearchRendering courtesy of Wordsearch
The living room opens up to captivating city views that include the Clocktower and downtown Manhattan, while two of the secondary bedrooms offer Empire State Building views.
As for the primary bedroom of the upscale residence — which features a large walk-in closet and windowed dressing room, and 5-fixture bath — it opens right into the planted balcony, also called a loggia (defined as an open-sided extension to a house).
Rendering courtesy of WordsearchRendering courtesy of Wordsearch
In fact, the $13.5 million residence has a 222-square-foot planted and irrigated loggiathat runs the full length of the east windows, adding to the rhythmic grid of windows and leafy balconies that are characteristic to the building.
Designed in collaboration with Brooklyn-based landscape architect Future Green Studio, plant species will be included in the home, such as periwinkle, thyme, oregano, lavender, alpine strawberries, and lowbush blueberries.
The planting choices are very specific and based on a Mediterranean approach to be edible, fragrant and open to regular sun exposure.
But the lushly planted gardens are by no means the luxury building’s only upscale additions. Indoor amenities include an attended lobby, a fitness center with yoga area and terrace access, a lounge, a game room with billiards table and dining area, and discreet on-site parking.
Residence 21A is the most expensive unit at the Flatiron House, with the lowest priced residence being $1.98 million at the time of writing.
More stories you might like
Britney Spears’ Star-Studded Former Penthouse in Manhattan is Up for Grabs If You Want to Live in a Celebrity Building, Here are Your Best Options The Many Famous Residents of the San Remo, NYC’s First Twin-Towered BuildingLive Like Kevin in ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ in This $6.5M Residence at the Plaza
This article will explain the Big Short and the 2008 subprime mortgage collapse in simple terms.
This post is a little longer than usual–maybe give yourself 20 minutes to sift through it. But I promise you’ll leave feeling like you can tranche (that’s a verb, right?!) the whole financial system!
Key Players
First, I want to introduce the players in the financial crisis, as they might not make sense at first blush. One of the worst parts about the financial industry is how they use deliberately obtuse language to explain relatively simple ideas. Their financial acronyms are hard to keep track of. In order to explain the Big Short, these players–and their roles–are key.
Individuals, a.k.a. regular people who take out mortgages to buy houses; for example, you and me!
Mortgage lenders, like a local bank or a mortgage lending specialty shop, who give out mortgages to individuals. Either way, they’re probably local people that the individual home-buyer would meet in person.
Bigbanks, such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who buy lots of mortgages from lenders. After this transaction, the homeowner would owe money to the big bank instead of the lender.
Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)—deep breath!—who take mortgages from big banks and bundle them all together into a bond (see below). And just like before, this step means that the home-buyer now owes money to the CDO. Why is this done?! I’ll explain, I promise.
Ratings agencies,
whose job is to determine the risk of a CDO—is it filled with safe mortgages,
or risky mortgages?
Investors, who buy part of a CDO and get repaid as the individual homeowners start paying back their mortgage.
Feel lost already? I’m going to be a good jungle guide and get you through this. Stick with me.
Quick definition: Bonds
A bond can be
thought of as a loan. When you buy a bond, you are loaning your money. The issuer of the bond is borrowing your money. In exchange for borrowing your money, the
issuer promises to pay you back, plus interest, in a certain amount of time.
Sometimes, the borrower cannot pay the investor back, and the bond defaults, or fails. Defaults are not
good for the investor.
The CDO—which is a bond—could hold thousands of mortgages in it. It’s a mortgage-backed bond, and therefore a type of mortgage-backed security. If you bought 1% of a CDO, you were loaning money equivalent to 1% of all the mortgage principal, with the hope of collecting 1% of the principal plus interest as the mortgages got repaid.
There’s one more key player, but I’ll wait to introduce it.
First…
The Whys, Explained
Why does an individual take out a mortgage? Because they want a home. Can you blame them?! A healthy housing market involves people buying and selling houses.
How about the lender;
why do they lend? It used to be
so they would slowly make interest money as the mortgage got repaid. But
nowadays, the lender takes a fee (from the homeowner) for creating (or originating) the mortgage, and then
immediately sells to mortgage to…
A big bank. Why do
they buy mortgages from lenders? Starting in the 1970s, Wall St. started
buying up groups of loans, tying them all together into one bond—the CDO—and
selling slices of that collection to investors. When people buy and sell those
slices, the big banks get a cut of the action—a commission.
Why would an investor
want a slice of a mortgage CDO? Because, like any other investment, the big
banks promised that the investor would make their money back plus interest once the homeowners began
repaying their mortgages.
You can almost trace the flow of money and risk from player to player.
At the end of the day, the investor needs to get repaid, and that money comes from homeowners.
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CDOs are empty buckets
Homeowners and mortgage lenders are easy to understand. But a big question mark swirls around Wall Street’s CDOs.
I like to think of the CDO as a football field full of empty buckets—one bucket per mortgage. As an investor, you don’t purchase one single bucket, or one mortgage. Instead, you purchase a thin horizontal slice across all the buckets—say, a half-inch slice right around the 1-gallon mark.
As the mortgages are repaid, it starts raining. The repayments—or rain—from Mortgage A doesn’t go solely into Bucket A, but rather is distributed across all the buckets, and all the buckets slowly get re-filled.
As long as your horizontal slice of the bucket is eventually surpassed, you get your money back plus interest. You don’t need every mortgage to be repaid. You just need enough mortgages to get to your slice.
It makes sense, then, that the tippy top of the bucket—which
gets filled up last—is the highest risk. If too many of the mortgages in the
CDO fail and aren’t repaid, then the tippy top of the bucket will never get
filled up, and those investors won’t get their money back.
These horizontal slices are called tranches, which might
sound familiar if you’ve read the book or watched the movie.
So far, there’s nothing too wrong about this practice. It’s simply moving the risk from the mortgage lender to other investors. Sure, the middle-men (banks, lenders, CDOs) are all taking a cut out of all the buy and sell transactions. But that’s no different than buying lettuce at grocery store prices vs. buying straight from the farmer. Middle-men take a cut. It happens.
But now, our final player enters the stage…
Credit Default Swaps: The
Lynchpin of the Big Short
Screw you, Wall Street nomenclature! A credit default swap sounds complicated, but it’s just insurance. Very simple, but they have a key role to explain the Big Short.
Investors thought, “Well, since I’m buying this risky tranche of a CDO, I might want to hedge my bets a bit and buy insurance in case it fails.” That’s what a credit default swap did. It’s insurance against something failing. But, there is a vital difference between a credit default swap and normal insurance.
I can’t buy an insurance policy on your house, on your car, or on your life. Only you can buy those policies. But, I could buy insurance on a CDO mortgage bond, even if I didn’t own that bond!
Not only that, but I could buy billions of dollars of insurance on a CDO that only contained millions of dollars of mortgages.
It’s like taking out a $1 million auto policy on a Honda Civic. No insurance company would allow you to do this, but it was happening all over Wall Street before 2008. This scenario essentially is “the big short” (see below)—making huge insurance bets that CDOs will fail—and many of the big banks were on the wrong side of this bet!
Credit default swaps involved the largest amounts of money in the subprime mortgage crisis. This is where the big Wall Street bets were taking place.
Quick definition: Short
A short is a bet that something will fail, get worse, or go down. When most people invest, they buy long (“I want this stock price to go up!”). A short is the opposite of that.
Certain individuals—like main characters Steve Eisman (aka Mark Baum in the movie, played by Steve Carrell) and Michael Burry (played by Christian Bale) in the 2015 Oscar-nominated film The Big Short—realized that tons of mortgages were being made to people who would never be able to pay them back.
If enough mortgages failed, then tranches of CDOs start to fail—no mortgage repayment means no rain, and no rain means the buckets stay empty. If CDOs fail, then the credit default swap insurance gets paid out. So what to do? Buy credit default swaps! That’s the quick and dirty way to explain the Big Short.
Why buy Dog Shit?
Wait a second. Why did people originally invest in these CDO bonds if they were full of “dog shit mortgages” (direct quote from the book) in the first place? Since The Big Short protagonists knew what was happening, shouldn’t the investors also have realized that the buckets would never get refilled?
For one, the prospectus—a fancy word for “owner’s manual”—of a CDO was very difficult to parse through. It was hard to understand exactly which mortgages were in the CDO. This is a skeevy big bank/CDO practice. And even if you knew which mortgages were in a CDO, it was nearly impossible to realize that many of those mortgages were made fraudulently.
The mortgage lenders were knowingly creating bad mortgages. They were giving loans to people with no hopes of repaying them. Why? Because the lenders knew they could immediately sell that mortgage—that risk—to a big bank, which would then securitize the mortgage into a CDO, and then sell that CDO to investors. Any risk that the lender took by creating a bad mortgage was quickly transferred to the investor.
So…because you can’t decipher the prospectus to tell which mortgages are in a CDO, it was easier to rely on the CDO’s rating than to evaluate each of the underlying mortgages. It’s the same reason why you don’t have to understand how engines work when you buy a car; you just look at Car & Driver or Consumer Reports for their opinions, their ratings.
The Ratings Agencies
Investors often relied on ratings to determine which bonds
to buy. The two most well-known ratings agencies from 2008 were Moody’s and
Standard & Poor’s (heard of the S&P
500?). The ratings agency’s job was to look at a CDO that a big bank created,
understand the underlying assets (in this case, the mortgages), and give the
CDO a rating to determine how safe it was. A good rating is “AAA”—so nice, it
got ‘A’ thrice.
So, were the ratings agencies doing their jobs? No! There are a few explanations for
this:
Even they—the experts in charge of grading the
bonds—didn’t understand what was going on inside a CDO. The owner’s manual
descriptions (prospectuses) were too complicated. In fact, ratings agencies
often relied on big banks to teach
seminars about how to rate CDOs, which is like a teacher learning how to
grade tests from Timmy, who still pees his pants. Timmy just wants an A.
Ratings agencies are profit-driven companies.
When they give a rating, they charge a fee. But if the agency hands out too
many bad grades, then their customers—the big banks—will take their requests
elsewhere in hopes of higher grades. The ratings agencies weren’t objective, but instead were biased by
their need for profits.
Remember those fraudulent mortgages that the
lenders were making? Unless you did some boots-on-the-ground research, it was
tough to uncover this fact. It’s hard to blame the ratings agencies for not
catching this.
Who’s to blame?
Everyone? Let’s play devil’s advocate…
Individuals: some people point the finger at homeowners, saying, “You should know better than to buy a $1 million house on a teacher’s salary.” I find this hard to swallow. These people, surrounded by the American home-ownership dream, were sold the idea that they would be fine. The mortgage lender had no incentive to sell a good mortgage, they only had an incentive to sell a mortgage. So, it’s hard for me to put too much blame on the homeowners.
Mortgage lenders: someone knew. I’m not saying that all the mortgage lenders were fully aware of the implications of their actions, but some people knew that fraudulent loans were being made, and chose to ignore that fact. For example, check out whistleblower Eileen Foster.
Big banks: Yes sir! There’s certainly blame here. Rather than get into all of the various money-grubbing, I want to call out one specific anecdote. Back in 2010, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein testified in front of Congress. Here it is:
[embedded content]
To explain further, there are two things going on
here.
First, Goldman Sachs bankers were selling CDOs to investors. They wanted to make a commission on the sale.
At the same time, other bankers ALSO AT GOLDMAN SACHS were buying credit default swaps, a.k.a. betting against the same CDOs that the first Goldman Sachs bankers were selling.
This is like selling someone a racehorse with cancer, and then immediately going to the track to bet against that horse. Blankfein’s defense in this video is, “But the horse seller and the bettor weren’t the same people!” And the Congressmen responds, “But they worked for the same stable, and collected the same paychecks!”
So do the big banks deserve blame? You tell me.
Inspecting Goldman Sachs
One reason Goldman Sachs survived 2008 is that they began buying credit default swaps (insurance) just in time before the housing market crashed. They were still on the bad side of some bets, but mostly on the good side. They were net profitable.
Unfortunately for them, the banks that owed Goldman money were going bankrupt from their own debt, and then Goldman never would have been able to collect on their insurance. Goldman would’ve had to payout on their “bad” bets, while not collecting on their “good” bets. In their own words, they were “toast.”
This is significant. Even banks in “good” positions would’ve gone bankrupt, because the people who owed the most money weren’t able to repay all their debts. Imagine a chain; Bank A owes money to Bank B, and B owes money to Bank C. If Bank A fails, then B can’t collect their debt, and B can’t pay C. Bank C made “good” bets, but aren’t able to collect on them, and then they go out of business.
These failures would’ve rippled throughout the world. This explains why the US government felt it necessary to bail-out the banks. That federal money allowed banks in “good” positions to collect their profits and “stop the ripple” from tearing apart the world economy. While CDOs and credit default swap explain the Big Short starting, this ripple of failure is the mechanism that affected the entire world.
Betting more than you have
But if someone made a bad bet—sold bad insurance—why didn’t they have money to cover that bet? It all depends on risk. If you sell a $100 million insurance policy, and you think there’s a 1% chance of paying out that policy, what’s your exposure? It’s the potential loss multiplied by the probability = 1% times $100 million, or $1 million.
These banks sold billions of dollars of insurance under the assumption that there was a 5%, or 3%, or 1% chance of the housing market failing. So they had 20x, or 30x, or 100x less money on hand then they needed to cover these bets.
Turns out, there was a 100% chance that the market would fail…oops!
Blame, expounded
Ratings agencies—they should be unbiased. But they sold themselves off for profit. They invited the wolves—big banks—into their homes to teach them how to grade CDOs. Maybe they should read a blog to explain the Big Short to them. Of course they deserve blame. Here’s another anecdote of terrible judgment from the ratings agencies:
Think back to my analogy of the buckets and the rain. Sometimes, a ratings agency would look at a CDO and say, “You’re never going to fill up these buckets all the way. Those final tranches—the ones that won’t get filled—they’re really risky. So we’re going to give them a bad grade.” There were “Dog Shit” tranches, and Dog Shit gets a bad grade.
But then the CDO managers would go back to their offices and cut off the top of the buckets. And they’d do this for all their CDOs—cutting off all the bucket-top rings from all the different CDO buckets. And then they’d super-glue the bucket-top rings together to create a field full of Frankenstein buckets, officially called a CDO squared. Because the Frankenstein buckets were originally part of other CDOs, the Frankenstein buckets could only start filling up once the original buckets (which now had the tops cut off) were filled. In other words, the CDO managers decided to concentrate all their Dog Shit in one place, and super glue it together.
A reasonable person would look at the Frankenstein Dog Shit field of buckets and say, “That’s turrible, Kenny.”
BUT THE RATINGS AGENCIES GAVE CDO-SQUAREDs HIGH GRADES!!! Oh I’m sorry, was I yelling?!
“It’s diversified,” they would claim, as if Poodle shit mixed with Labrador shit is better than pure Poodle shit.
Again, you tell me. Do the ratings agencies deserve blame?!
Does the government deserve blame?
Yes and no.
For example, part of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 mandated that the government mortgage finance firms (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) purchase a certain number of sub-prime mortgages.
On its surface, this seems like a good thing: it’s giving money to potential home-buyers who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a mortgage. It’s providing the American Dream.
But as we’ve already covered today, it does nobody any good to provide a bad mortgage to someone who can’t repay it. That’s what caused this whole calamity. Freddie and Fannie and HUD were pumping money into the machine, helping to enable it. Good intentions, but they weren’t paying attention to the unintended outcomes.
And what about the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the watchdogs of Wall Street. Do they have a role to explain the Big Short? Shouldn’t they have been aware of the Big Banks, the CDOs, the ratings agencies?
Yes, they deserve blame too. They’re supposed to do things like ensure that Big Banks have enough money on hand to cover their risky bets. This is called proper “risk management,” and it was severely lacking. The SEC also had the power to dig into the CDOs and ferret out the fraudulent mortgages that were creating them. Why didn’t they do that?
Perhaps the issue is that the SEC was/is simply too close to Wall Street, similar to the ratings agencies getting advice from the big banks. Watchdogs shouldn’t get treats from those they’re watching. Or maybe it’s that the CDOs and credit default swaps were too hard for the SEC to understand.
Either way, the SEC doesn’t have a good excuse. If you’re in bed with the people you’re regulating, then you’re doing a bad job. If you’re rubber stamping things you don’t understand, then you’re doing a bad job.
Explain the Big Short, shortly
You’re about 2500 words into my “short summary.” But the important things to remember:
Financial acronyms suck.
Money flowed from the investors down to the mortgage lenders, and the risk flowed from the mortgage lenders up to the investors. In between, the big banks and CDOs acted as middle men and intermediaries.
When someone feels like their actions have no risk, or no consequences, they’ll behave poorly (big banks, mortgage lenders) When someone is given what seems like an amazing deal, they’ll take it (individual home owners).
CDOs are like empty buckets. Mortgage payments are like rain, filling the buckets. Investors buy tranches, or slices, across all the buckets. If mortgages fail, then the buckets might not fill up, and the investors won’t get their money back.
CDOs are intentionally complex. So complex, that not even the people grading them understood what was going on (ratings agencies).
Buying insurance on something your do not own is a behavior with potential for abuse (big banks)
Buying insurance on something for more than it’s worth is a behavior with potential for abuse (big banks). This is where most of the money in the financial crisis switched hands.
And with that, I’d like to announce the opening of the Best Interest CDO. Rather than invest in mortgages, I’ll be investing in race horses. Don’t ask my why, but the current top stallion is named ‘Dog Shit.’ He’ll take Wall Street by storm.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this article, join 6000+ subscribers who read my 2-minute weekly email, where I send you links to the smartest financial content I find online every week.
-Jesse
Want to learn more about The Best Interest’s back story? Read here.
If you prefer to listen, check out The Best Interest Podcast.
Faith-based investing! What does it mean? Is it a worthy investing route to follow?
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at this type of investing and explore how you can make it work for you. Read on to learn about how this way of investing strategy allows you to reinforce your values.
Nowadays, investors are not putting their money just anywhere. Investors have realized the benefit of investing in things that matter. These include things like caring for the environment, wildlife, society, and minority groups. They want to make a difference with their investments.
Investors are now looking for investment options, which offer good returns and align with their beliefs and values. This way, even as they make more money, they do it with a clean conscience.
Faith-based investing is an investment philosophy that many investors are now embracing. And, like impact investing or socially responsible investing, it promises to do more than multiply your money.
So, what exactly is faith-based investing, and how does it work? Is it worth your money and time? And, how do you get started with faith-based investing?
Let’s dive in and find out.
What is Faith-Based Investing?
When we see the term faith-based, most of us instantly think of “religious investments.” Well, while it’s connected to religion, it’s definitely not in the way most of us might think.
Firstly, faith-based investing has nothing to do with religious organizations’ stocks. In fact, as you might already know, religious organizations are non-profits, thus, don’t issue public shares.
For instance, you’ll never see churches, mosques, or temples, offering shares to the public.
So, if not investing in religious organizations, what does faith-based investing mean?
Your next guess might be correct.
Faith-based investing is not too different from other investment philosophies. All aim at maximizing investors’ returns.
But, investors here don’t choose just any investment. They focus on investments whose strategies align with their religious values.
This way, the investor’s faith, values, and beliefs determine where they invest their money. As you can notice, while this type of investing doesn’t mean investing in shares from places of worship, it’s still tied to religion and values. And that’s why faith-based investing can also be referred to as values-based investing.
Interestingly, every faith has its opinions and perspectives on how to invest money to support certain causes. Also, the same applies to causes that contradict the faith’s beliefs and values.
For this reason, we will dissect faith-based investing based on some of the main religions around the globe. This will help us understand the concept better.
Top Faith-Based Investing Options
If you want to start your faith-based investing journey, here are some of the main options you can choose from.
Christian Investors
Christianity is the world’s largest religion, with around 2.5 billion followers. And, all these people lead their lives based on certain beliefs and values – investing is part of this life.
If you are Christian or wish to invest based on Christianity values, there are two main investment styles you can opt for:
Catholic Faith-Based Investing
The Catholic faith has its own framework on how believers should lead their economic life. The framework outlines ten faith-based principles and guidelines. This outlines how Catholic Christians should engage in finances and the economy.
Generally, they emphasize investing in companies or funds that support various positive issues. For instance, environmental conservation, human rights, fair employment practices, etc.
Also, Catholic investors will avoid investments that support certain things. These include abortion, weapons, adult entertainment, embryonic stem-cells research, etc.
Their investing principles revolve around moral law and human dignity.
Currently, we have many companies, investment firms, and funds you can pick from. These are companies where such values form part of their investing philosophy.
This means that as a Catholic value investor, you can invest freely in these companies or entities. And, you won’t have to worry about contradicting your faith.
Some excellent examples of Catholic faith-based investment entities include:
Catholic Investment Services
This is a not-for-profit investment management firm designed to deliver high returns on investment. And, it keeps Catholic faith principles at heart. It aims at pursuing investment excellence based on Catholic faith values.
Currently, the firm manages assets worth over $1 billion and serves around 45 Catholic institutions. Also, its restricted companies’ list stands at 700.
Catholic Investment Strategies
This is another great way to invest in Catholic faith-based investments. Here, the platform allows you to invest your money in a way that aligns with your faith and church values.
And as they put it on their website, they will never invest your money in companies whose values contradict the Catholic faith.
Generally, the platform invests in institutions like hospitals, universities, etc.
Also, they offer a portfolio that fits your needs. The portfolio excludes investments that support abortion, contraception, racial and gender discrimination, etc.
The LKCM Aquinas Funds
With the LKCM Aquinas Funds, the main investment strategy is guided by social responsibility (SRI). This Equity Fund offers Catholic faith investors an investment option that promises high ROI.
Its choice of securities and companies to invest in depends on the principles and guidelines formulated by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The fund has been operational since 2005 and continues to grow with a 9.83% growth rate since it began.
Protestant Investing
Unlike the Catholic faith that shares common beliefs across the entire faith, Protestants are somewhat different. While some denominations are quite liberal in their beliefs, others are more conservative. But, their principles tend to be similar.
Generally, the Protestant faith encourages work ethics and hard work. It urges its followers to invest in entities that support general Christian values. This mainly involves social consciousness. This means that this type of faith-based investing might not be as strict and specific as its Catholic counterpart.
Also, even as they promote social consciousness, they exclude some investments. These include stocks that support:
Adult entertainment
Weaponry
Embryonic cloning
Addictive behavior (drugs, gambling, etc.)
High-interest loans (shylocks and payday loans)
Some excellent examples of companies and funds that support Protestant faith-based investing include:
GuideStone Funds
For over 20 years, GuideStone has faithfully served faith-based investors and advisors. The platform seeks to offer strong-performance investments guided by various Christian values.
GuideStone provides Protestant faith-based investors an excellent opportunity to invest in mutual funds. And, it offers a diversified portfolio across various asset classes. It does all this with Christian values in mind.
The platform seeks to offer socially screened investments that are well managed. These ones guarantee great returns for the investors.
In essence, they use biblical teachings and values to ensure that investors get good returns. Also, their money is also invested in investments that make the world a better place.
The fund’s main values revolve around family, health, stewardship, life, and safety. So, if this sounds like you, you certainly need to start your investing journey here.
New Covenant Funds
This is a faith-based investment fund by the Presbyterian Church. It seeks to offer Protestants the best investing style based on their values.
Basically, the fund’s investment strategies depend on socially responsible investing. Here, the slogan, “you can do well while doing good,” guides them. It gives diversity in investment options, as well as charitable giving.
The platform makes investment decisions based on social consciousness principles. It supports doing good to help nature and society.
Additionally, it avoids investments that promote negative issues. This includes things like gambling, alcohol and other addictive drugs, pornography, etc.
As a Christian, New Covenant Funds offers something for everyone. Whatever your investment mission is they have something for you.
Jewish Faith-Based Investing
Giving and diversification are the key principles that guide Jewish faith-based investing. Jews follow investment strategies that adhere to these two principles, among other values in their faith.
In the Jewish religion, there are many teachings about giving and diversification, as seen in the Talmud. These teachings subsequently act as guidelines when it comes to investing.
Jewish investing doctrines and beliefs resemble socially responsible investing. Here, society and the environment are major pillars in investment decisions.
Different faith-based investments embrace socially responsible investing. This is because it fits into the guidelines and principles of different religions.
Some of the main issues addressed in this type of investing option include:
Social justice
Climate change
Region’s specific issues
Various mutual funds offering Jewish faith-based investments focus on various crucial issues. Some of the best investment platforms here include:
Jewish Values Investment Funds
Investing in Jewish faith-based mutual funds has been made easier. JVIF, LLC, offers an excellent way for Jews to invest in companies and funds that align with the Jewish faith and beliefs.
This investment advisor recognizes the importance of tzedakah (charitable giving). It allows the Jewish community to invest in things that matter to them.
The Bend the Arc
This is another great fund, offering Jewish investors a chance to grow their money. An, it allows them to take part in charitable giving.
The fund aims to encourage community development by supporting initiatives as follows.
Small businesses,
Affordable housing, etc.
With as little as $20, anyone can invest and make a change. The fund’s Community Investment Note finances various organizations. These are organizations that bring positive change to various communities globally.
If you want to invest in something that makes the world a better place, this might be the way to go.
Islamic Investing
Just like Christianity and Jewish faiths, the Islamic religion has values and beliefs. These guide its followers on the way to lead their lives, including financial matters. This way, when it comes to investing, Muslims have specific guidelines or principles to follow.
Generally, Muslim investors will adhere to halal or permitted values while investing. This set of rules allows investors to undertake a disciplined type of investing. They make investments that are ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible.
Islamic investing principles discourage investing in areas such as:
Pork related businesses
Companies that invest in gambling, drugs, and adult entertainment
Short-term speculation (the faith considers this as gambling).
Companies with huge debts since they are paying interest for the loans.
Any investment that pays interest (money markets, savings account, etc.)
In other words, any company or fund that wants to qualify for Islamic investing must adhere to Sharia law. It must follow the teaching from the Quran, Qiyas, Ijma, and the Sunnah.
If you’ve been looking for a way to make Islamic faith-based investments, here are some excellent options for you.
Amana Mutual Funds
These are Islam faith-based mutual funds offered by Saturna Capital. The funds’ investment strategies are guided by the Islamic faith. And, they embrace social, ethical, and environmentally-friendly practices.
However, they prohibit investing in interest-bearing securities and bonds. They’ll usually try to guard their investments against inflation through long-term equity investments.
Saturna follows investment principles that avoid interest or companies engaging in prohibited issues. These include the sale of alcohol, pornography materials, gambling activities, etc.
Allied Asset Advisors, Inc.
Allied Asset Advisors operates like any other investment management company. It offers portfolio management, financial planning, mutual funds, and retirement plans for investors.
The company is Islam faith-based and offers investment opportunities supporting the Islamic faith.
It introduced the Iman Fund, which is tailored to fit the needs of Muslim investors. It adheres to Sharia law and principles.
Is Faith-Based Investing Worth It?
Absolutely yes! If you find the right investing platforms, you can easily make money. Also, you’ll feel proud of how your money is being invested.
But, you should note that faith-based investing faces the same risks as other investments. So, ensure that you’ve not settled for just any company or fund.
Choose companies that can prove strong financial standings, charge reasonable fees, and that show growth potential. This way, you don’t end up investing your money in companies that will never offer value for your investment.
Generally, faith-based mutual funds and ETFs offer better long-term returns.
This is according to research published by John C. Adams and Parvez Ahmed from the University of Texas and the University of North Florida.
So, if you feel that faith-based investing ought to be your next investment move, it can certainly be a good move. But as mentioned, do thorough research on the best faith-based investments depending on your values and beliefs.
Author Bio:Kyle is the founder of The Impact Investor, a website focused on helping others invest sustainably without sacrificing financial returns. We all want products sourced by sustainable and ethical means, why should investing be any different? Follow my investing journey on my Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter accounts.
Oprah Winfrey has amassed an impressive collection of Montecito real estate over the last two decades.
But the media mogul’s latest headline in the luxury community is not about a house, but a wall — one that neighbors fear might reroute flooding onto their properties during the next rainstorm.
After months of heavy rainfall and flooding across the community, a boulder wall was installed along San Ysidro Creek, which runs along Winfrey’s estate, to protect the property from flooding and creek erosion, according to Santa Barbara’s Noozhawk.
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It’s a reasonable precaution; Montecito has long been prone to weather disasters, including a 2018 mudslide filmed by Winfrey that killed 23 people, a number of whom were swept into San Ysidro Creek. Earlier this year, the area was evacuated when a storm swept through the community.
But residents fear that the wall could redirect the creek, pushing floodwater onto other properties during intense rainfall.
“You can’t alter creek canals and not expect there to be results,” Sharon Byrne, executive director of the Montecito Assn., said in an interview with Noozhawk. “Don’t change the creeks. They are going to shift and move on their own.”
The wall was reportedly installed by Jimenez Nursery, which obtained a permit to build it on Feb. 1, a few weeks after the area was evacuated. The permit sought to reconstruct the creek bank after the flood and replace boulders that had either eroded or washed away.
This month, a group of officials and inspectors met at the wall to analyze the project after a complaint was filed with the county. John Zorovich, a deputy director for the Santa Barbara County Planning & Development Department, told SF Gate that an investigation was ongoing.
The wall was built on Winfrey’s Santa Rosa Lane property, which she bought at auction for $28.85 million in 2015. At the time of the sale, the 23-acre estate known as Seamair Farm held a ranch-style home built by prolific architect Cliff May as well as equestrian facilities such as a stable, barn, riding rings and a horse trainer’s house.
The property was an expansion of “the Promised Land,” Winfrey’s famous main residence that she picked up for around $50 million in 2001. The 42-acre spread centers on a 23,000-square-foot Georgian-style mega-mansion overlooking the ocean.