Sound Mind Investing

What Sound Mind Investing does

Sound Mind Investing (SMI), founded in 1990 by Austin Pryor and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a privately-held, faith-based investment advisory and media company that serves Christian individual investors and families. It operates a subscription-based platform combining a monthly print newsletter, an extensive online content library covering personal finance, investing, and retirement topics, and a set of proprietary rules-based investment strategies. The core technology is a set of objective, mechanical momentum strategies—not algorithmic/AI—namely Just-the-Basics, Fund Upgrading, Dynamic Asset Allocation (DAA), and Sector Rotation, supported by tools such as the Personal Portfolio Tracker and monthly Fund Performance Rankings. Members can also access the MoneyGuide financial planning software at a steep discount.

SMI monetizes through two recurring membership tiers (Basic at $119.95/year and Premium at $129/year with a 35th-anniversary promotion off a $199 list price), supplemented by one-time handbook sales ($21.59 per copy; 100,000+ copies sold across seven editions), and affiliated managed-product fees. SMI Advisory Services, a separate but affiliated entity established in 2005, extends the methodology into professionally managed vehicles—including the SMI Funds family of five mutual funds (the original Sound Mind Investing Fund/SMIFX crossed $200M AUM in under two years), the SMI Private Client managed-account program, and two ETFs (SMI 3Fourteen FCTE and SMI 3Fourteen RAA).

The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer digital plus earned media. SMI relies on content marketing, a print newsletter, radio appearances on Faith & Finance (with Rob West, on American Family Radio/Moody Radio) and Solid Steps Radio, social channels, speaking engagements, and a referral/recommended-broker relationship with Fidelity. The customer base is highly distributed across individual retail investors rather than concentrated in any enterprise accounts, and the company has remained founder-owned with no external equity capital disclosed.

Name

Sound Mind Investing

Legal name

Sound Mind Investing

Website

https://soundmindinvesting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sound Mind Investing is a privately-held, Louisville-based Christian investment advisory that offers subscription memberships built on four rules-based momentum strategies, a monthly newsletter, and supporting financial-planning tools, serving over 70,000 individual investor subscribers across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Open-End Investment Funds (52591)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Discretionary Portfolio Management (DPM) (FSAAABAC)

Keywords

• Christian investment advisory
• Personal finance guidance
• Rules-based investing
• Retirement planning services
• Investment newsletter publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Basic Membership Subscription: Annual or monthly subscription providing access to foundational investing strategies (Just-The-Basics, Fund Upgrading), print newsletter, portfolio tracker, and community forum.
2. Premium Membership Subscription: Higher-tier subscription offering full access to all strategies including DAA and Sector Rotation, MoneyGuide financial planning software, and all premium content.
3. SMI Handbook Sales: Sale of the Sound Mind Investing Handbook (7th edition) - currently offered at 20% discount for $21.59 with free shipping within U.S. Has sold over 100,000 copies.
4. SMI Advisory Services (Managed Accounts): Professionally managed account programs including SMI Private Client and SMI Funds (five mutual funds), managed by affiliated entity SMI Advisory Services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sound Mind Investing is a Christian-focused subscription investment advisory that delivers rules-based, momentum-driven investing strategies (Just-the-Basics, Fund Upgrading, Dynamic Asset Allocation, and Sector Rotation) through a monthly print newsletter, website articles, and member-only digital tools. Members also receive the Personal Portfolio Tracker, Fund Performance Rankings, the Member Forum, and (at Premium tier) MoneyGuide financial planning software access.

Product overview

Sound Mind Investing is a Christian-focused investment advisory that offers a subscription-based platform combining educational content, rules-based investment strategies, and financial planning tools. The core offering includes four investment strategies (Just-the-Basics, Fund Upgrading, Dynamic Asset Allocation, and Sector Rotation) delivered via a monthly print newsletter, online content, and digital tools including a Personal Portfolio Tracker and Fund Performance Rankings. The company operates two membership tiers (Basic and Premium), with Premium offering exclusive access to MoneyGuide financial planning software. SMI also extends its methodology through affiliated brands including the SMI 3Fourteen ETFs (FCTE and RAA), SMI Funds mutual funds, and SMI Private Client managed accounts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SMI Advisory Services: A separate but affiliated entity that manages the SMI Funds mutual funds and the SMI Private Client managed-account program.
• SMI 3Fourteen Full-Cycle Trend ETF (FCTE)
• SMI 3Fourteen REAL Asset Allocation ETF (RAA)
• The Sound Mind Investing Handbook

Products and services

• Sound Mind Investing Newsletter
• Just-the-Basics Strategy
• Fund Upgrading Strategy
• Dynamic Asset Allocation (DAA) Strategy
• Sector Rotation Strategy
• Personal Portfolio Tracker
• Fund Performance Rankings
• SMI Member Forum
• MoneyGuide Financial Planning
• The Sound Mind Investing Handbook (7th Edition)
• SMI Funds (Mutual Funds)
• SMI Private Client
• SMI 3Fourteen Full-Cycle Trend ETF (FCTE)
• SMI 3Fourteen REAL Asset Allocation ETF (RAA)
• Basic Membership
• Premium Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• DAA Strategy: $10,000 grew to $99,302 (2000-2024), 9.3% average annual return vs. 7.3% for U.S. stock market
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, minor and foundational.

• SMI Advisory ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMI Advisory Services is a separate but affiliated entity that manages the SMI Funds, SMI Private Client managed-account program, and SMI 3Fourteen ETFs (FCTE and RAA). It enables investors to have SMI strategies professionally managed on their behalf.
• Faith & Finance (Rob West)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerSMI team members regularly appear on the Faith & Finance radio program (American Family Radio/Moody Radio) hosted by Rob West, providing biblical financial education to listeners.
• Solid Steps Radio (Further Still Ministries)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSMI content distributed through Solid Steps Radio, produced by Further Still Ministries, providing additional reach to faith-based audience.
• Larry Burkett (Christian Financial Concepts)foundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1989, Larry Burkett suggested that SMI founder Austin Pryor create an investment newsletter for Christians. This conversation led to the founding of Sound Mind Investing in 1990. Larry Burkett founded Christian Financial Concepts, which later merged with Crown Ministries.
• MoneyGuide (Envestnet)majorTechnology or IntegrationSMI Premium members receive exclusive access to MoneyGuide financial planning software (#1 financial-planning software used by advisors) for a one-time $50 fee with ongoing access.
• FidelitymajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSMI's top recommended brokerage firm, with Fidelity's fund lineup and pricing offering the greatest overall flexibility for implementing SMI strategies at low cost.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Investments: One of the largest U.S. brokerage and asset management firms with a broad retail investor platform. Comparable as the recommended brokerage channel for implementing SMI's strategies and as a broader incumbent competing for the same self-directed retail investor dollars SMI targets, including via its zero-expense-ratio index funds and managed portfolios.
• Betterment: Leading U.S. robo-advisor offering automated, low-cost diversified portfolios and goal-based planning tools. Comparable to SMI as an alternative for do-it-yourself retail investors who would otherwise pay for SMI's rules-based strategies, but operating at much lower price points and without a faith-based thesis.
• Wealthfront: Automated investment and financial planning platform offering diversified portfolios, tax-loss harvesting, and retirement planning. Comparable to SMI in serving the self-directed investor segment with rules-based portfolio construction, representing a low-cost substitute for SMI's premium momentum strategies.
• Empower (formerly Personal Capital): Digital wealth management platform combining robo-advisory portfolios with human advisor access and financial planning tools. Comparable to SMI as a competing destination for self-directed investors seeking integrated financial planning (akin to SMI's MoneyGuide offering) plus managed portfolios (akin to SMI Private Client).

Direct peers

• Compass - finances God's way: Faith-based financial counseling and education ministry offering biblical budgeting, debt management, and investing courses. Comparable to SMI as both serve Christians with biblical personal finance content and tools, with overlapping audiences for stewardship education and retirement planning guidance.
• Crown Financial Ministries: Biblical financial discipleship organization formed from the merger of Larry Burkett's Christian Financial Concepts and Crown Ministries. Directly comparable to SMI as both are Christian financial education organizations targeting believers with budgeting, debt, and stewardship content; Larry Burkett's 1989 conversation with Austin Pryor effectively seeded SMI's founding.
• Kingdom Advisors: Network of Christian financial advisors and certified kingdom advisors (CKA) integrating biblical wisdom with financial planning. Comparable to SMI as both serve Christian investors seeking biblically-aligned guidance, though Kingdom Advisors operates as a professional advisor network rather than a direct-to-consumer publisher.
• Ronald Blue Trust: Faith-based wealth management and financial planning firm serving Christians with investment management, estate planning, and financial coaching. Closely comparable to SMI Advisory Services/SMI Private Client in target customer (Christian individuals and families), values-based investing philosophy, and fee-based advisory model — though positioned at higher AUM tiers.
• Faith & Finance (FaithFi): Faith-based personal finance media platform hosted by Rob West on American Family Radio/Moody Radio. Directly comparable to SMI as both produce biblically-grounded financial content for Christian audiences; SMI team members are recurring guests on Faith & Finance, making it both a distribution partner and an adjacent content competitor.
• Ramsey Solutions: Dave Ramsey's faith-based personal finance media company offering budgeting, debt elimination, and investing guidance to Christians via courses, books, podcasts, and events. Comparable to SMI as both serve the same Christian personal finance audience with subscription/content-led models, though Ramsey's scale (multi-million listener base) and breadth (Financial Peace University, Ramsey+ membership) materially exceed SMI's.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SoundMindInvest
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuBkbe9cxJolto6m-h4Y22w
• Facebookfacebook.com/soundmindinvesting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sound-mind-investing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Sound Mind Investing