When our church was looking to invest, we asked the advisor if the investments would be biblically screened,” recounted members of a finance team in a meeting with the Foundation. “When they said, ‘no’, we knew we couldn’t go forward.” Far too often, this is the predicament churches find themselves in – wanting to invest while remaining faithful. Thankfully, faith-driven investing is now possible and profitable.

At the Foundation we have made a conscious effort over the last two years to increase our capabilities as faith-driven investors. To fully embrace the task of investing through the lens of Scripture we need partners who are committed to delivering excellent investment returns and kingdom impact.

Sovereign’s Capital is an investment firm focused on venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE). They are a key component of our alternative investment portfolio that helps deliver equity-like returns in a non-correlating manner. Venture Capital represents investments into early-stage companies and private equity is an investment into a non-publicly traded company. VC and PE investors tend to invest for long-term returns and thus have lengthy time horizons.

Sovereign’s Capital was founded in 2010 By Henry Kaestner, Andre Mann, and Luke Roush, as the three lamented the challenges faith-based entrepreneurs had in accessing the venture capital market. In fact, Kaestner’s company Bandwidth, was rejected 40 times by VC firms because of their commitment to their faith as a part of their corporate culture. They refused to yield on their values, raised the money themselves, and today the company is listed on the Nasdaq.

This experience inspired the Sovereign’s team to start a firm that would embrace faith-driven entrepreneurs rather than rejecting them. Since then, it has been source of capital, by matching values-based companies with like-minded investors.

Jake Thomsen and Kenneth Ewell, two partners with Sovereign’s Capital, shared some of the ways the firm looks at potential investment opportunities. Thomsen noted they seek “early-stage tech and software companies that can scale quickly while having redemptive cultural impact.” An example would be their investment into Grab, an Uber-like super app based in Southeast Asia. This company, founded by a committed Christian, was formedto help protect women from abuse in taxi cabs. Its founder has been vocal (even in Muslim countries) about how his Christian faith influences the business. This company recently went public for $40 billion.

Another way Sovereign’s deploys capital is by placing assets with other managers who have strong faith convictions. Ewell explains their due diligence in selecting managers, “We learn a lot from the questions we ask such as: how do you understand God’s call on your life, how does that call inform how you invest both philosophically and practically.” Some of the companies focus on areas such as education, technology, and health care – particularly with an emphasis on providing care to underserved populations.

As a trusted partner for churches and ministries we never want them to compromise on their faith convictions. We are excited about our ability to deliver solid returns for our clients. Equally, we are excited about how we deliver those results. We are committed to faith-driven investing where we can help resource The Great Commission and impact the world for God’s glory.