"Socially-responsible" researcher hires "biblically-responsible" consultant. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research, consulting and portfolio-management solution provider IW Financial (IWF) has engaged Russell Miller as a consultant on faith-based investing strategies.

The ESG approach is often called "socially-responsible investing." In truth though, ESG is every bit as effective in culling out a "sin"-based investment portfolio -- like Mutual.com's Vice Fund -- focused on companies that promote things such as gambling and sell booze, cigarettes and armaments.

Growing

As it happens, however, Miller won't be advising Portland, Maine-based IWF's sales and consulting teams on sin strategies.

"The faith-based investing community is significant and growing in both numbers and assets," says IWF's CEO Sam Pierce. "With his investment-industry credentials and extensive experience with faith-based and biblically-responsible investing, Russ will be a tremendous asset to our team as we continue to build our capacity to serve this market."

Miller has worked in the financial-service industry for more than 30 years, principally as an energy-sector analyst and investment banker. In addition to advising IWF he is chief investment counsel at Johnson City, Tenn.-based American Values Investment and heads his own firm Foundation Financial.

IWF provides environmental, social, and governance research and related consulting and portfolio-management technology to asset managemers, separately managed account sponsors, institutional investors, plan sponsors and private-client investment advisors. -FWR

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