Interview: The Man Who Dared to Imagine If God Were an Investor
At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, a pair of believers envisioned an investing firm whose goal was not limited to maximizing returns, but to make the world better. Founded before ESG came into vogue on Wall Street, the company manages billions today and shows no signs of slowing down.
For most of us, the phrase "Put your money where your mouth is" amounts to little more than an empty saying. But not to Robin John, a middle-aged man who made a peculiar pivot in the early part of his career: Instead of joining the clergy, he would go on to found an investment firm competing on Wall Street.
In recounting the difficult early years when Eventide Asset Management was still floundering, Mr. John tells me that his motivation was not chasing riches but, instead, making the world "rejoice."
At first blush, this goal sounds better suited for a nonprofit institution or missionary group. Joy, after all, is not typically associated with the world of finance.
But the more I listened, the more sensible his vision became. Like all good entrepreneurs, Eventide solved a problem he and his co-founder, Finny Kuruvilla, had themselves faced. Devout and financially savvy, the two young Christians had wanted to make it possible for people of faith to invest with their conscience.
The moral dimension of money was a recurring theme during our conversation. Unless kept underneath a mattress, most people's savings are released into the broader economy, including as investments into companies. Yet most of us rarely consider what these companies actually do. This is where the two faithful entrepreneurs saw an opportunity.
Timeless reading in a fleeting world.
