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[As personalization continues to transform wealth management, advisors are being asked to accommodate not just an investor’s financial objectives but also their deeply held values, beliefs, and personal identity. Among these, faith-based considerations – particularly within the rapidly expanding universe of Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) – are becoming increasingly important.
Many investors within Christian communities want their financial lives to reflect the same principles that guide their personal and spiritual decisions. Yet the tools for systematically evaluating whether a company aligns with, or conflicts with, these values have historically been limited.
To explore how MSCI is helping fill this need with its new Christian Values Screening solution, I spoke with Olga Emelianova, who leads MSCI Screening and Impact Research supporting value-based investment strategies, impact investing frameworks, and sustainable finance polices alignment. We asked her questions to help us better understand the value-based screening process and how it addresses the needs of faith-based investors.]
Hortz: Why is personalization, especially value-based personalization, becoming such an essential part of modern wealth management?
Emelianova: Personalization has become a hallmark of the modern advisory relationship because investors increasingly expect their financial lives to reflect their identities. What was once a conversation focused solely on risk tolerance, goal achievement, or time horizons has evolved into a deeper exploration of who the client is and what matters to them.
For many, personal values, whether rooted in ethics, culture, or faith, play a major role in shaping how they want their capital deployed. Advisors who can authentically integrate values into portfolio design deepen engagement, enhance trust, and deliver a more holistic wealth experience.
Hortz: How does faith, and specifically Christian or BRI investing, fit into this personalization trend?
Emelianova: Faith-based guidelines vary widely, which made it difficult to design investment screens that were both rigorous and adaptable. We learned that while many institutions share similar foundational beliefs, the degree to which they apply exclusions varies widely. Some want to avoid any ties to certain activities, while others set revenue thresholds.
Our consultations helped us understand these nuances and build a framework that wealth managers can adapt depending on the client’s level of conviction. That adaptability is one of the reasons advisors find the dataset valuable.
Hortz: What challenges have wealth and asset managers faced in implementing faith-aligned investment strategies?
Emelianova: One of the biggest challenges has been the lack of structured, consistent, and transparent data that captures the nuance of Christian values across denominations and practitioners. In many cases, the underlying information does exist, but it is just not disclosed in a consistent or easily usable way. Wealth teams often lack the dedicated resources needed to research and validate company involvement in the activities that matter to faith-driven clients.
That is why structured screening datasets have become so valuable: they consolidate complex disclosure into clear, interpretable signals that advisors can use to create portfolios aligned with client convictions.
Hortz: How does MSCI’s Christian Values Screening address these challenges?
Emelianova: MSCI’s Christian Values Screening provides a structured, research-driven foundation that allows advisors to understand where companies may be involved in business activities considered misaligned with evangelical Christian values in the United States. The dataset uses MSCI’s long-standing Business Involvement Screening Research (BISR) to measure specific activities and revenue exposures.
Advisors can use ready-made aggregate factors or customize screens to reflect individual client preferences. By grounding the solution in transparent data and clearly defined methodologies, we can help advisors apply faith-based criteria consistently, reliably, and at scale.
Hortz: Can you explain the purpose of the three aggregate screening factors you developed – Faith Essentials, Faith Plus, and Faith Conviction?
Emelianova: The three aggregate factors were developed to reflect common patterns observed across evangelical Christian investment policies, but with enough flexibility to account for the diversity of conviction within Christian communities.
Faith Essentials represents a foundational set of exclusions that many practitioners consider core.
Faith Plus expands the scope to incorporate additional sensitivities.
Faith Conviction provides the most stringent level, interpreting values with the highest degree of restriction.
These tiers act as reference points rather than prescriptive standards, giving advisors a scalable starting framework that can be adjusted according to each client’s interpretation of their values.
Hortz: How might this type of screening bring value to client portfolios beyond moral alignment?
Emelianova: Values-aligned investing offers benefits that extend beyond the exclusion of certain business activities. When clients feel that their portfolios reflect their beliefs, they may be more committed to their long-term investment plans, which can support better financial behavior.
This alignment also strengthens the advisor-client bond by fostering deeper trust and more meaningful conversations about purpose and priorities. For many investors, being able to integrate faith into their investment decisions enhances satisfaction and engagement, contributing to a more holistic investment experience.
Hortz: How do you see personalization, and faith-based investment specifically, evolving in the years ahead?
Emelianova: We believe personalization will continue to expand into areas that allow investors to fully express their values and identity through their portfolios. Faith-based investing is increasingly being supported by more sophisticated data, analytics, and customization tools that make these strategies easier to implement across diversified portfolios.
As advisors look to serve next-generation clients and refine their value proposition, scalable values-based solutions – whether focused on faith, ethics, or other personal priorities – will become an integral component of modern wealth management.
We invite financial professionals to follow our work with MSCI Business Involvement Screening Research (BISR) and our MSCI Christian Values Screening data.
This article was originally published here and is republished on Wealthtender with permission.
About the Author
Bill Hortz
Founder Institute for Innovation Development
Wealthtender is a trusted, independent financial directory and educational resource governed by our strict Editorial Policy, Integrity Standards, and Terms of Use. While we receive compensation from featured professionals (a natural conflict of interest), we always operate with integrity and transparency to earn your trust. Wealthtender is not a client of these providers.