At Beacon Wealth Consultants, we seek to invest in what we call “Shining Light Companies.”

These are companies that:

• Demonstrate strong servant leadership
• Live out the Golden Rule in their business practices
• Demonstrate care for creation
• Demonstrate social responsibility and strong corporate governance
• Create compelling values through the products and services they offer

In the video below, Portfolio Analyst Colin Craig, MBA, CSRIC® discusses why we look for Shining Light Companies!

(Full transcript below)

Transcript

Hi, my name is Colin Craig, and I’m a Portfolio Analyst here with Beacon Wealth Consultants and Light Point Portfolios.

Autumn is well underway by now, and if you’re like me, you’re probably enjoying the cooler weather. the football, corn mazes, and warm apple crisp the characterize this time of year. And when I think about this season of the year, I’m reminded that the days are getting shorter, and this is the time of year that we have to turn on some extra lights in the house just so that you don’t stumble around and stub your toes at night.

And when I think about turning on some extra lights in the house, it reminds me of this concept that we talk about here, Beacon Wealth Consultants, and that is Shining Light Companies. You see the phrase Shining Light Companies is more than a slogan. It really characterizes our philosophy of investing, which prioritizes a flourishing society by solving problems, meeting needs, and being really intentional about stewarding the resources that God has given us.

Well, what is a shining light company and what does it have to do with our investing? Well, you see, a light is something that makes vision possible. In other words, it illuminates. It makes something visible.

We even see this concept of light throughout scripture. For example, in Matthew 5:16, Jesus calls his followers to let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who’s in heaven. But what is this light that Jesus is referring to, and what does it have to do with our investing?

Well, in the Book of John, we learned that Jesus is the light and he is the one who enlightens sinful people to his redeeming work on the cross, on their behalf. And similarly, we read in First John that God is light, and Christ’s followers are called to walk in the light.

So you see by the Holy Spirit, Christians are called to walk in the light by walking with Jesus, by pointing other people to him, by sharing the gospel, by showing compassion, practicing humility, being sacrificially generous, forgiving others, loving justice and treasuring righteousness.

And I love what Spurgeon once said when he was preaching on Matthew five, Spurgeon said, “genuine faith in Christ turns a person from darkness to marvelous light and transforms him into light in the Lord so that the light pours forth from the windows so as to be seen by others. The believer is to be a lighthouse to others, a cheering lamp, and a guiding star.”

You may be thinking to yourself, this is all great, but I still don’t get what this has to do with investing. Well, I think it’s helpful to take a step back and to remind ourselves that we invest in companies.

Investing at its core is supplying capital to companies in exchange for the potential economic benefits that a company owning a piece of that business. And these companies are groups of people with some collective objective, can meet a need or a want in society. And while we wish all companies are ethically meeting needs and creating value and truly caring for others, we know that isn’t always the case.

Some companies prey on human addiction while others disregard the value of human life. But these companies aren’t really creating value. They’re really destroying it.

Here at Beacon Wealth, we focus on companies that we believe are making a difference in the world. Today, just as Christians are called to be a light or to be distinctly like Christ in the way that we live our lives and interact with others, we look for companies that seem to go above and beyond in several key areas that make them distinctive and good.

We look for companies that are demonstrating strong servant leadership. Do the executives care for their employees, their products, and their company culture? We look for companies that are living out the golden rule in their business practices. These are companies that are treating others the way that they would want to be treated.

Are they making safe products serving customers well and looking out for the wellbeing of their local communities? We look for companies that are demonstrating care for creation. For example, a company making sure that their operations are not polluting local waterways.

We also look for companies that are demonstrating social responsibility and have strong corporate governance. These would be companies that are mindful of their executive compensation packages, their board structure, et cetera.

And lastly, we look for companies that are creating compelling value through the products and services that they offer. In other words, are they creating good products and services?

While no company is perfect, we believe that companies that are conducting business like this are reflecting kingdom priorities or Christian virtues of selflessness, prioritizing the welfare of others, and meeting other people’s needs. These companies are shining bright in the dark.

So over the coming months, we’ll continue to explore some of these Shining Light Companies in blog posts and videos. But I hope that today you’re encouraged that there really are good companies out there producing really good products and services for the good of society. This is what we are all about here at Beacon Wealth.

If you’d like to learn more about Beacon Wealth Consultants and our approach to investing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us today.

Call us today!  (540) 345-3891

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