Stewardship Partners

What Stewardship Partners does

Stewardship Partners Investment Counsel, Inc. is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser founded on August 1, 2000 by Howard "Rusty" Leonard and headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina. The firm delivers discretionary separate-account portfolio management to high-net-worth individuals, families, churches, ministries, denominations, and foundations, applying all client capital through a proprietary Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) ethical overlay. Operating with 1-10 employees and $76 million in total firm assets as of year-end 2025, Stewardship Partners is a small, founder-controlled boutique focused on a specific faith-aligned investor segment rather than scale-driven mass-market advisory.

The firm's product surface consists of five quantitative multifactor equity strategies — US Multifactor, International Multifactor, and Global Multifactor, each offered in standard and tax-efficient variants — that target persistent academic long-term return factors (value, small size, momentum, low trade activity, low volatility). Portfolios are benchmarked against broad-market ETFs, with Vanguard Total World Stock ETF as the Global Multifactor benchmark. The BRI overlay is supplied through a core partnership with the affiliated Biblically Responsible Investing Institute (BRII), which conducts primary-source corporate research and maintains a proprietary documentation database across ten biblically-grounded screening categories. The firm claims GIPS compliance for the Global Multifactor composite since July 1, 2015, with reported gross composite returns outperforming the benchmark in 7 of 10 years through 2025.

Stewardship Partners generates revenue primarily through a recurring, asset-based investment management fee of 1.00% annually, billed monthly, on accounts with a $50,000 minimum initial funding. The go-to-market model is direct and advisor-led: prospective clients schedule phone or Zoom consultations, complete an online Account Initiation Questionnaire, or contact the Director of Client Services. Marketing is content-driven via the firm website and authored articles, supplemented by referrals from faith-based ministry networks and earned media in Christian and mainstream outlets. The firm is privately held by founder Leonard, with Stephen M. duBarry, CFA serving as CEO, and the Biblically Responsible Investing Institute functioning as both affiliate research provider and a defining differentiator versus secular advisors.

Name

Stewardship Partners

Legal name

Stewardship Partners Investment Counsel, Inc.

Website

https://stewardshippartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stewardship Partners Investment Counsel is a Matthews, NC-based SEC-registered investment adviser providing discretionary, multifactor equity separate-account management with proprietary Biblically Responsible Investing screening for high-net-worth individuals, families, churches, ministries, and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith-Based Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Stewardship & Active Ownership (Engagement, Proxy Voting, Shareholder Advocacy) (FSAAALAD)

Keywords

• Investment management services
• Biblically responsible investing
• Separately managed accounts
• Multifactor equity strategies
• Faith-based portfolio management

Headquarters

HQ city

Matthews

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Discretionary Investment Management Fees: Stewardship Partners charges a standard investment management fee of 1.00% annually on assets under management. This is a recurring, asset-based revenue stream from separately managed accounts. The fee is deducted monthly (1/12th of the annual rate) from client accounts. Net returns in performance reporting are calculated by deducting a model management fee of 0.083% (1/12th of the highest 1.00% management fee) from monthly gross composite returns. The firm typically only accepts accounts initially funded with $50,000 or more.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Stewardship Partners is a Christian investment management firm that provides fully discretionary separately managed account strategies (US Multifactor, US Multifactor Tax-Efficient, Global Multifactor, Global Multifactor Tax-Efficient, and International Multifactor) for high-net-worth individuals, families, churches, ministries, and foundations. Portfolios are constructed using a proprietary quantitative multifactor equity methodology targeting persistent long-term return factors (value, small size, momentum, low volatility, low trade activity) and are filtered through a proprietary Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) screening process to exclude companies engaged in biblically-objectionable activities.

Product overview

Stewardship Partners offers Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) through separately managed account investment strategies. Their core product lineup consists of five quantitative multifactor investment strategies: US Multifactor and its tax-efficient variant, Global Multifactor and its tax-efficient variant, and International Multifactor. These strategies seek to outperform their respective equity benchmarks by maintaining exposure to multiple persistent long-term return factors such as value, small size, momentum, low trade activity, and low volatility. All strategies incorporate biblical screening principles to avoid investing in companies engaged in activities conflicting with Christian values. The firm typically accepts accounts initially funded with $50,000 or more.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• US Multifactor A separately managed account investment portfolio designed to systematically outperform the broad US equity market using a quantitative multifactor approach, filtered through proprietary Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) screening to exclude companies engaged in biblically-objectionable activities. Targeted at clients who meet the firm's $50,000 minimum initial funding requirement.
• US Multifactor Tax-Efficient A US equity separately managed account portfolio designed to systematically outperform the broad US equity market on an after-tax basis through tax-loss harvesting and other tax management techniques, combined with the firm's quantitative multifactor methodology and BRI screening.
• Global Multifactor A separately managed account portfolio designed to systematically outperform the broad global equity market using multiple factor exposures including value, small size, momentum, low trade activity, and low volatility, and filtered through proprietary BRI screening. Benchmarked against the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF.
• Global Multifactor Tax-Efficient A global equity separately managed account portfolio designed to systematically outperform the broad global equity market on an after-tax basis using tax management strategies alongside the multifactor approach, with BRI screening to align investments with biblical values.
• International Multifactor A separately managed account portfolio designed to systematically outperform the broad international equity market using quantitative factor-based strategies, filtered through proprietary BRI screening and offered to clients meeting the $50,000 minimum initial funding requirement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Global Multifactor composite gross return of 29.44% in 2025 vs benchmark 22.43%; 21.21% (2024) vs 16.49%; 19.31% (2023) vs 22.02%; 2.88% (2022) vs -18.01%; 34.99% (2021) vs 18.27%
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Biblically Responsible Investing Institute (BRII)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBRII is described as Stewardship Partners' affiliate and is the primary data and research provider for the firm's Biblically Responsible Investing screening methodology. Founded in 1997 by Patrick Johnson, BRII examines publicly-traded companies across ten BRI screens (abortion, alcohol, anti-family activity, bioethics, gambling, human rights, low-income financial services, pornography, tobacco, and the homosexual agenda). BRII's research is used by Stewardship Partners to identify and exclude biblically-objectionable securities from client portfolios. BRII provides four core services: accurate primary-source research on publicly-traded companies, assistance in identifying BRI screens aligned with client convictions, customized parameter ratings reports, and ongoing reassessment as new social issues emerge. Stewardship Partners obtains its BRI screening information from BRII, which it considers the best database of BRI information currently available.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Inspire Investing: Inspire Investing is a biblically responsible investing firm offering ETFs and separately managed accounts with faith-based exclusionary screens. It competes directly with Stewardship Partners for the same faith-aligned HNW and institutional investor base using similar exclusion methodology.
• Timothy Plan: Timothy Plan is a faith-based mutual fund family applying biblical screening criteria to its portfolios. It targets the same evangelical Christian investor segment as Stewardship Partners but distributes through mutual funds and intermediaries rather than SMAs.
• Praxis Mutual Funds: Praxis Mutual Funds is a faith-based mutual fund manager applying biblical and ESG screens to its investment strategies. It targets Anabaptist Christian and broader evangelical investors with a similar values-driven product set.
• Ave Maria Mutual Funds: Ave Maria Mutual Funds is a Catholic-values-based mutual fund family that excludes companies involved in activities inconsistent with Catholic moral teaching. It is a faith-based exclusionary manager competing for the broader religious-values investor pool.
• GuideStone Financial Resources: GuideStone is the Southern Baptist pension and investment organization, offering faith-screened investment options to pastors, churches, and ministry employees. It is a direct competitor in the faith-based institutional and HNW segment.
• Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS): CBIS is a Catholic faith-aligned investment manager applying values-based screens across institutional portfolios. It serves a parallel institutional faith-based mandate similar to Stewardship Partners' church, ministry, and foundation segment.
• Eventide Asset Management: Eventide is a faith-based, values-aligned asset manager offering mutual funds and SMAs that integrate Christian and ethical principles with rigorous investment processes. It is a direct competitor for faith-driven HNW and institutional clients.

Broad incumbents

• Trillium Asset Management: Trillium is a long-standing values-based investment manager offering ESG-screened and impact strategies to institutional and HNW clients. It is a broader incumbent in the values-driven investment management space, with similar exclusionary methodology but progressive rather than faith-based values.
• Impax Asset Management: Impax (which acquired the legacy PAX World Funds franchise) is a global asset manager focused on sustainable and responsible investment strategies. It is a broad incumbent in ESG/values investing with comparable exclusionary approaches, though at meaningfully greater scale.
• Calvert (a Morgan Stanley Investment Management brand): Calvert is one of the original ESG/values-based investment managers with a long history of exclusionary and impact screening. It is a broad incumbent in values-aligned investing that competes for the same values-driven investor dollar, though from a secular ESG perspective rather than a faith-based one.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stewardship-partners-investment-counsel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stewardship Partners