Episode 42 - The Kingdom Advisors Story with Rob West
subscribe to the podcast
Kingdom Advisors is setting the standard for what it means to be a Christian financial advisor. They provide encouraging content and community that is building up the collective body of believers, and we're so glad to point you to their work today.
Rob West is the President of Kingdom Advisors and in addition to sharing their origin story and mission, he shared interesting insights into specific investment vehicles that Faith Driven Investors should know about. Check it out today...
Episode Transcript
*Some listeners have found it helpful to have a transcription of the podcast. Transcription is done by an AI software. While technology is an incredible tool to automate this process, there will be misspellings and typos that might accompany it. Please keep that in mind as you work through it. The FDE movement is a volunteer-led movement, and if you’d like to contribute by editing future transcripts, please email us.
Henry Kaestner: Rob, it's awesome to have you on the show, thank you for joining us, Henry, so glad to be with you. This is super cool for me because, you know, you've done and to be clear, we haven't done very many of these across Faith Driven Entrepreneur and feature an investor, but it's infrequent that I find somebody who is a guess who's done infinitely more of these than we have. And you're a radio guy and you've done this a long time. And I got to tell you, it's a little intimidating to talk to a guy who's actually a radio host and interviewing him.
Rob West: Well, with podcasting these days, just about everyone is doing this kind of thing. So you're right, though. I do host a radio program every afternoon, but I've really been looking forward to this conversation and so excited about the work of faith driven investor.
Henry Kaestner: Well, thank you for joining us. So I know a lot of our listeners and we've heard this feedback already. A lot of our listeners are financial advisors. A lot of our listeners are their clients, but a lot of people who have as a profession to help people understand how to steward the wealth that's been entrusted to them. So this is a big deal for us to hear from you today. But to start talk to us about this program that you've got and the platform that you have. And what is Kingdome Advisors?
Rob West: Yeah, well, I appreciate that question, Henry, and, you know, I would start by saying King of Advisors is really leading what we call an industry of Christian financial advice. We have the privilege of serving about thirty one hundred Christian financial advisors in the U.S. and Canada. Really one of the main objectives there is to provide advocacy for these advisors who we like to say are specialists in bringing biblical wisdom to bear alongside competent financial advice.
We also issue a designation, as you know, Henry certified Kingdome advisor, which is really positioned in the market as the gold standard for biblically wise financial advice among believers and those who want to align their faith with their financial decisions at a professional level. We also provide community for these financial advisors through more than 250 study groups that meet in the US and Canada. These are small groups of advisors and right now they are happening virtually, even though typically they would be mainly in-person meetings. We do an annual conference every year, which we say is the industry gathering. And we could talk about that a little later in our time together today. And then, of course, we offer training and tools where we deliver a step by step process for advisors who want to be confident in bringing this biblical financial advice to their clients. And then to your earlier mention of the radio program, we also have another ministry under Kingdome Advisors called Money Wise and Money Wise. Media is really our ministry where we share these principles with the public through our nationally syndicated radio programs. We're reaching about a million Christians a week and then many more through the podcast.
Henry Kaestner: OK, so I want to ask a lot of that, but I want to start with the Origin story. So Kingdome Advisors has obviously been around for a while. If you've got thirty one hundred people coming to that annual event, by the way, I've been at some of your events there worldclass. Tell us about how it all got started.
Rob West: Yeah, well, so we'd have to go back to nineteen ninety seven, Larry Birkhead, the late Larry Birkhead, who's most well known for the books that he wrote, he had a radio program that was probably one of the first in the space of about a thousand radio outlets. And Larry brought together 16 Christian financial professionals and they formed what was called the Christian Financial Planning Institute with a commitment to delivering biblically wise financial advice. Well, fast forward a number of years and really they expanded their vision to create a new organization that would really be responsible for taking the lead and reaching the Christian financial professional community. So at the time, they reached out to Ron Blue, who's a friend of yours and mine. And Ron, of course, an author, was the founder and is the founder of Rodell Blue and Company. Ron had built what is today still the largest Christian financial planning and wealth management firm anywhere, and with about 90 advisors at the time, the certainly larger now they were helping Henry. Many Christian families steward their resources. But what was fascinating was their clients were giving away tens of millions of dollars annually to Kingdome causes. And I think the reason really was that these advisors had a real sense of calling the Praxis was their ministry. They saw it that way. There was tremendous cultural reinforcement, if you will, within the organization. And they demonstrated that biblical financial wisdom worked at a professional level. And of course, it would, because it comes right out of God's word. Well, Larry, and these 16 advisors approached Ron and asked him to take over as CEO of what would later become Kingdome Advisors with this expanded vision. And really the rest is history. We now have these 30, 100 advisors that we serve and the organization is really growing significantly.
Henry Kaestner: Salamat understand the difference. So you're your customer.
You're somebody who's been entrusted with wealth at any level that's listening to this and you're trying to figure out what does a Christian financial advisor give me their second wouldn't. So presumably a secular financial advisor wants to help you plan for retirement and college planning and things. You might need a medical emergency. How is that different from a Christian perspective?
Rob West: Yeah, and we serve really financial professionals in one of five disciplines, if you will. So the financial planners, the investment professionals, but also CPAs and accountants, also insurance folks and then finally estate planning attorneys. But you would expect from every adviser, of course, experience, integrity, competence, and we measure all of those for our designation. We have an experience requirement and they have to abide by a code of ethics and the statement of faith. And we require pastor and client references and regulatory review and the like. But really, to your question, you know, I think I can read the difference from their secular counterpart is in the ability to bring advice that aligns with the values and priorities of Christians know there are real planning differentiators.
When you lay a biblical worldview on top of financial decision making, it changes how you approach accumulation and lifestyle and legacy and wealth transfer and generosity. And to our conversation today, investing as well.
So an advisor who understands the heart of God related to money through the more than 2000 verses on the subject, in God's word. Well, he or she can ask different questions and really assist the client in being a faithful steward of all that God has entrusted to them. You know, I think the other difference, though, Henry, is that a certified Kingdome adviser, somebody who's really a specialist in this area, understands that money issues are ultimately heart issues. We talked about, Larry Briquette really founding the Christian Financial Planning Institute, which later became CSPI. Larry used to say that the way we handle money is the clearest indicator into what's going on in our lives spiritually. It says where we placed our trust, it says what we value. And if something is going to dethrone God from first position in our lives, it's most often going to be money. So I believe the Christian advisor really can help clients hold what they have loosely understand that their financial journey in many ways shapes their spiritual journey and really underscore Henry the importance of giving generously.
Henry Kaestner: So you mentioned something along the way I thought is really important in the 2000 verses to talk about money and investing in the Bible. And I would imagine that one of the greatest challenges that any financial advisor has is in working with a couple, a husband and a wife who may have different views of money. And if you're just looking at a secular perspective with kind of a, you know, a relative truth perspective, it may be very difficult to be able to bring a couple together around how to think about how to steward money or how to think about generosity, et cetera. But it's got to be really helpful for that financial adviser to say, listen, you know, one of. This brings us together is this belief that there's a God who loves us and that he has this handbook, if you will, handbook is not the right way to probably talk about the word of God. But nonetheless, there's this great scriptural reference to help you as a couple to process through things like generosity and wealth over the generations, et cetera. To that extent, I suppose maybe it's easier for Christian financial advisor to help people.
Rob West: Yes, well, I think you're exactly right, and especially right now, through the times in which we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic, I think advisors and clients alike want to know that they're receiving advice. They're delivering advice that's rooted in something transcendent, that it's bigger than them. And as Ron Blue likes to say, you know, biblical wisdom is always right. It's always relevant. It's never going to change. And we know that's true. But you bring up a really key point here. And that is as to the couple, you know, this is really critical. We're big fans of the work of Jeff and Shante Feldheim, who just completed a three year long study on men, women and money and wrote a book about it. And we just I interviewed Shauntay a couple of weeks ago on it. And, you know, she was uncovering this idea that 70 percent of married couples have real difficulty communicating about money. And one of the top reasons for it is there's a misalignment or a misunderstanding of how their values connect to their money. And so this is really the opportunity for the advisor. And I would say even more so for the Christian advisor to be able to lean into that and say, let's work together, husband and wife, on uncovering your values. What's important to you? And how can money as a tool be used as an expression of those values? And that brings them together instead of driving a wedge in the relationship?
Henry Kaestner: Yeah, it's powerful. I'm completely with you, especially in the context of giving how much is enough? What's our finish line starting with that? And then, of course, from then so many other things come in tax planning and succession planning and how much to for the kids, etc.. Let's get back to you. Talked about Ron being a key part of picking up the mantle from Larry Birkhead. We're huge fans around here. You mentioned he's a friend. He's been a great adviser to us for the last dozen or so years. And pretty much anything that I've done and I know continues to be integral in the work that you guys do, a kind of advisers. How is his influence affected you? And just, you know, perspective a guy that's been doing this for 50 plus years, the larger faith driven investor movement, and it doesn't sound like he's slowing down.
Rob West: No, no, it's it's amazing. He's actually busier than ever, doing really important work through the round words do, but still very heavily involved in Kingdome advisors and the work that we do and as a monthly contributor to money wise and money wise radio programs as well. I don't know how he does what he does to his influence on me personally, Henry. I would just say he's been one of the most significant mentors in my life. So Howard Dayton is another giant of the faith. And Ron Blue, it's just been incredible that the Lord has allowed them to speak into my life in the ways that they have. Ron's an amazing visionary. I've learned so much from him on that. I think probably the most significant thing that has stood out to me about his life is just the integrity with which he has conducted himself and his ministry over the decades. He is who he says he is, and he's the same guy, whether he's on the stage or he's at home with his wife, Judy. So he is just an amazing man, that God is used in significant ways and continues to. But his influence on this space has been enormous. He, I would say, is the founder of Christian Financial Planning. You know, his work to pioneer the delivery of biblical financial advice at the professional level is really the foundation for all of the training we do today. Kingdome Advisors. Although Ron's work was really focused in the planning areas, he was really clear from the very beginning that this idea of faith based investing was really a conviction or a conscience matter that Christians needed to wrestle with. And I really think that as the faith driven investment space matures with now so many world class investment solutions being created that are uniquely designed for the Christian advisor and ultimately investor, there's a true industry of Christian financial advice for these investments to live within. That is a direct result of Ron and his work ethic.
Henry Kaestner: So tell me more about the you mentioned in industry. So it's much more than just a conference. There's actually there's many aspects to it. You talked before about five different kind of professionals that come in from attorneys all the way through. Tell us more about this growing industry.
Rob West: Yeah, well, it's really one of the most exciting things that has come out of our work at Kingdome Advisors in the last five years. Henry, we're just thrilled that there now exists today a true industry of Christian financial advice. And you would think about it, as you could call it, a specialty. But we really refer to it as an industry because there's so many different pieces and parts of it. Of course, it's a subset of the larger financial services industry and some of the components we've now got. Fifteen hundred certified Kingdome advisors. So we've got these thirty, thirty, one hundred members of Kingdome Advisors we serve more than fifteen hundred have earned the designation to be held out to the public last year. Forty eight. And Christians searched for a local certified kingdom adviser to connect with in their community, and so there's a growing demand on the part of Christians for this, datelined advice and investment solutions. Fifty firms have now approved certified kingdom adviser. And if you know anything about what's happening in designations in the financial services industry, there's less and less of them that are being recognized. And so the fact that 50 firms, including some of the biggest firms up and down Wall Street, having approved for use and some of those major firms even approving Scriptura to be used in financial plans by these advisors is just a huge step forward.
You know, we're seeing significant coverage of the Christian financial industry in the financial media. So we've been featured in The Wall Street Journal and Financial Planning magazine and FDE magazine. I mean, it's Yahoo! Finance. You know, there's a real interest in what's happening across this space.
One of the most exciting pieces of this industry, Henry, that's taken off in the last several years because of the work at not only Kingdome Advisors, but the ROMBA Institute is the number of Christian universities that are now bringing this training into their financial planning degree programs so they can train up and graduate future financial advisors that are ready to enter this business as a specialist and then biblically wise financial advice. And so we're thrilled about that. And then I could point to many more evidences. But the last one I'll mention is just, I think, directly related to our conversation today. And that is just the incredible number of investment solutions that are being created, uniquely suited for the Christian advisor in this whole faith driven investing space that are just such high quality investments and the growing number of them, even just in the last couple of years. I think it's just real evidence of what's taking off in front of us.
Henry Kaestner: So tell us a little bit more about some of the things that you've seen. What are some of the new funds that are out there, the new vehicles?
Rob West: Well, you know, one of the things that's been helpful for us is to really think about these faith based investments in three categories. And so there would be, of course, the investments where we embrace certain things. So we're screening in companies that have either a social or Kingdome impact. Perhaps you can call it a triple bottom line in some cases where, you know, looking through the investments and options out there and these, you know, investments are then bringing in companies that really are making a difference in the world. And, you know, there's a growing number of those in both ETFs and, you know, private equity and mutual fund and obviously individual investments as well. Then in the second category of avoid, obviously, the growth in this area of the screening tools that are available and the number of growing solutions that are available to advisors who their clients really want to make sure that they leave out those companies that would in some way conflict with their values and priorities. And then this whole idea of shareholder engagement engages that third category. And it's really been fun to see just a growing number of investments and firms that are really helping their clients, who are owners in companies, engage companies around their values and let their values be known and to see some of the differences that are being made as a result of that. And then just the quality of these investments that are winning industry awards and being recognized for not only just being high quality, but having stellar performance. You know, we didn't see the number of investments, certainly not the quality of the investments that exist today, even just a couple of years ago. And so I think it's really a new day for advisors who want to lean into the space with their clients.
Henry Kaestner: So I know it's probably awkward for you because you represent this larger industry to single out any particular mutual funds or mutual fund families. And so I'm not going to put you on the spot for that. But I know of several. And and this is absolutely something for somebody to listen to his podcast to be able to talk through with their financial professional. It doesn't take much research to find some of the ones that are great tortas about. You mentioned private equity. Traditionally, we think about some of the brokers that I used to back in the early 90s, worked at Merrill Lynch. So some of the wire houses are able to offer certain products that may be different than some of the independent financial planners and some of the independent financial planners may have access to be able to present some things with a little bit more latitude and maybe some wire houses. Like, for instance, I'm thinking now about some of the new investment opportunities that are going on in Eastern Europe, where there is investment in things that are bringing about God's kingdom in Eastern Europe or in Africa. I think maybe about a couple that might come back from a missions trip to Rwanda and having encountered just really compelling entrepreneur, that's got a great opportunity for agricultural investing. Tell us about the nuance or the different levels of the industry and where some advisers can get involved in some things and maybe some other ones can.
Rob West: Well, you're exactly right. It really is going to depend on what type of firm they have, how they're registered, what firm they work for, or whether they are truly independent as a registered investment advisor. So obviously, those that work at firehouses are going to have certain constraints as to the types of investments that are approved for use with their clients. Obviously still a plethora of solutions, all that they need to serve their clients well, including in this area of faith based investing among the big firms. And that's one of the things that we're so excited about as this industry continues to grow, is the number of really household name warehouses that are proving C.K. and allowing these faith based investment solutions to exist on their platform. But when you get into some of these private equity deals and you get into investments that are unregistered or require you to be accredited, you know, obviously those are going to be reserved in most cases for an independent advisor, either who has a broker dealer who's willing to allow these solutions to be used or whether they're truly just an RIAA making their own decisions, using a custodian, but ultimately able to then, you know, use and have access to a greater variety of unregistered securities, of course, for the right type of investor that meets a certain minimum net worth and so forth. So depending upon where the advisor is in this industry, he or she may or may not have access to the types of investments that you're talking about. But clearly, there is a trend toward independent in the industry, which would mean simply that a growing number of advisors would have access even to the type of exciting things that you're describing.
Henry Kaestner: So a couple of things come up for that. But first of all, I ask is on the SEC side, you've got 1500 now. Presumably there's a place on the King of Advisors website where you can go and you can find out how you can find somebody.
Rob West: Absolutely. Both that kingdom advisors, dotcom and money wise, ERG. Like I said, just shy of 50000 Christians search for a certified Kingdome adviser in their city last year, and we're seeing similar numbers this year.
Henry Kaestner: OK. And on that site, you've got a section that's dedicated to biblically based response to market turmoil. Titus, through that a little bit, it's been a crazy time. And what are some of the things that somebody might find on that section?
Rob West: Yeah, we are really excited to be able to put that together in response to covid-19. We just knew that it was a unique season for advisors and the clients that they serve. And so they went through kind of this triage phase, as so many advisors did in the early days of that with the incredible market gyrations, just needing to contact advisors or clients. And, you know, one of the real challenges of this particular crisis was that in other times of crisis, you know, we would come together in community to process it. Know, I remember right after 9/11 going over to my parents house and meeting my siblings there, and we just kind of all sat around and debriefed. And, you know, one of the real challenges here in the early days of covid and now to some degree still today was that people were isolated. And so it just created, you know, the fear really led to a rational thinking and behavior. And so much of that, you know, was realized in the form of irrational decision making in their finances. So these advisors were just really trying to come alongside their clients and triage the situation. And now they've kind of settled into a new normal, if you will, you know, with lots of meetings and just reacting and responding to what's going on around them. But we created this resource that king of advisors, Dotcom's covid-19, where we wanted to offer just spiritual encouragement to these advisors. That's a big part of what we do for this community that we serve to bring industry thought leaders to the table. That could just be a real source of trusted counsel and insights. And then really in this third area, help them navigate client conversations as they really bring to bear this time tested wisdom into the conversation and help them lean into this role in which they serve as counselor or coach, you might say.
Henry Kaestner: So what's it like for a Christian financial advisor in a time like this? covid is meaning that you can't get together and look at a bunch of charts together with your clients. I imagine that some part of that makes it more efficient, but some part of that makes it less relational. What are you hearing from the folks you serve?
Rob West: Yeah, a couple of things. I mean, just from a real practical sense, obviously, as in just about every other industry, there's just a lot happening virtually through video conference. And so, you know, we've heard from some advisors that are building Zoome studios in their offices and thinking about how do we create a unique experience, everything from the audio quality to the lighting to, you know, how do we engage?
Because that's probably one of these. Changes that's going to stick where there's some segment of the client base that is going to want to choose that option to meet, you know, moving forward and a greater percentage. And so that's just one of the practical sides of it, obviously just managing through it as they have a remote workforce and just all the implications related to that. But then I think, Henry, as it relates to just the way in which they serve their clients, you know, we talk at King and Advisors about the four roles of an adviser, that of adviser, of course, that of leader, that of counselor, coach, and then finally disciple maker. And I think there are unique opportunities in each of those during this season. I mean, certainly as an advisor, I think one of the greatest things they can bring is just perspective, reminding them that God is in control and that he cares for them and that he is their provider and just kind of putting all of this uncertainty and unrest in a proper perspective, I think in the area of leader just bringing that biblical financial truth, that transcendent wisdom that transcends time and tax codes and markets and all of it, and really just reminding them of those bedrock principles, if you will, in the area of Councilor Koch. I think there's a unique opportunity for these Kingdome advisors to listen, to acknowledge the feelings of their clients, to help them process the fear that they have. And I think, you know, for many of their clients to replace that with faith and really just lean in to that unique opportunity. And then finally, the opportunity for disciple maker just to really kind of help them process this on their own spiritual journey. So there's a unique opportunity, I think, here. And so many of our advisors are encouraged just really about the doors that the Lord is opening, even just in the area of prayer, just as they find this as a season where they can pray more regularly with their clients, perhaps, than they have previously now.
Henry Kaestner: So you guys are known for an incredible gathering. I mentioned it before. It happens in Orlando each year. And you've got a number of other gatherings, some of which I've been to one in Nashville last year was outstanding. You introduced me to the world of Matamoras music and saw forever be grateful. I was outstanding. What does it look like for you all this year as you're doing gatherings, or are you also moving to them? What are you going to do in Orlando?
Rob West: Yeah, so great question. And we obviously are doing a lot of things virtually. We have a remote workforce right now. So our team at Kingdome Advisors and money wise are all working from home with the exception of just the daily radio broadcast and a team of producers and coast graders and engineers that make that happen. But everybody else is working from home.
And so there's just a real practical reality of how we're working as a team, but it affects how we serve our members as well. Fortunately, the certified Kingdome advisor educational program that we offer, which is the training prerequisite for the Kingdom Advisor designation, which is a 50 hour program, is an online program offered through Liberty University, Indiana Wesleyan University. So those cohorts continue to go on on a self-paced basis and are instructional mentors, are working with them remotely, as they always have. I mentioned these 250 study groups that we offer around the U.S. and Canada. These are small groups of advisors that come together every month around original content that we produce in our studio and send out or stream. And they usually meet in person and around a 90 minute meeting to watch and discuss the material. Well, that's all happening virtually. So that's obviously a big change. And then, yes, this big annual gathering we do we were expecting between 1800 and 2000 Christian financial advisors in Orlando next February. And because of covid and the social distancing, we had to make the decision this summer. And we've just actually recently announced this publicly, that we're actually moving to a virtual event this coming February. So our 20 21 conference will be an online experience, but it's going to be anything other than perhaps what you have in your mind when you think of an online conference. It's going to be the best of what Kingdome Advisors brings to the table. And this really is one of our unique competencies to create remarkable moments and really to deliver a world class conference. It's going to be the best of what we deliver, but in the most accessible format ever. And so we're actually really excited about it. We're going to be planning for every bit of eight months. We're going to be the best speaker lineup we've ever had. There's going to be ways for this growing number and we think will be between three and four thousand advisors that will participate in it to search on a very granular basis for other advisors that have similar interests or practice types and connect with them. It'll have the largest virtual exhibit hall we've ever had. There will be interaction with all the breakout speakers live. There'll be a real engagement opportunities and a variety of other areas worship. So it's going to be great. And I think, Henry, as much as we love to be together each year and we. Can't wait to be back together in person in the future with the industry. Christian advice, we think this is a unique season for 20 21 to actually through this virtual conference to expose many, many more advisers to this industry than we ever have before, because there's a certain number that just have never taken the trip to Orlando. And once they get there and experience it, they always come back. But until they experience it, it's really hard to describe it. So I think we could really exponentially grow this community this year through this virtual gathering that'll happen February 17th through the 19th of 2021 was that it comes up we want to do our part, making sure people know about it.
Henry Kaestner: Rob, one of the things we like to ask any one of our guests on any one of our programs is what you're hearing from God personally and his word. Maybe it's in a study group. Maybe it's with your wife, maybe this morning. But what's something that you're hearing from God speak to you about from the Bible?
Rob West: Yeah, I appreciate you asking. You know, I've been studying recently the book of Mark and the Gospel of Mark. And, you know, this particular thing that just jumped off the page to me recently, Henry, I think relates directly to what we're talking about here today. And it won't be unfamiliar to you. It's Mark four and it's the parable of the solar. And what's fascinating to me is just, you know, when the disciples are questioning Jesus around really the implications of this story that he's just told about this parable of the sower, and they wanted to know what these various soils represented. And, you know, when he describes what choked out the word from burying a 30 60 hundredfold return in the soldiers lives, he says that it's the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things. And I think that's just so fascinating, because if you go back to what I was saying earlier at the kind of the beginning of our time together is that, you know, the love of money has the potential to be one of the most common things that will dethrone God from first position in our lives. And I think that's exactly what this passage in Parable is speaking to, is that the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things, which probably is going to in many cases be material possessions, that has the potential to choke out the word from bearing fruit in our lives. And so God has just really been impressing upon me the unique opportunity we have to think differently about what God has entrusted to us. And I think that really underscores, if you will, the opportunity of the Christian advisor as well.
Henry Kaestner: That's a great word and a great one to end on. Rob, thank you very much for joining the program, looking for the next time we get together. And it sounds like we'll have an opportunity to participate virtually in February and hopefully will connect before then. Thank you for being on the program.
Rob West: It was a joy. Henry, I appreciate the invitation and I'll look forward to be back with you again real soon.