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Dave Zellner assumes leadership role as Executive Chair, launches capital campaign to fund major expansion

Press release: FaithInvest is delighted to announce that Dave Zellner, longtime Chief Investment Officer of Wespath Benefits and Investments and an industry leader in faith-aligned investing, will assume a new role as our Executive Chair beginning September 1.


Dave has unparalleled experience and credibility in faith-consistent investing, having spent more than 27 years at Wespath until his retirement on 1 August 2024. There he steered the management of more than US$25 billion in assets (as of 31 December 2023) on behalf of over 100,000 participants and 150 United Methodist institutions. 


Now he is taking on an expanded voluntary role of Executive Chair at FaithInvest where he has been Chair of Trustees since 2019, and will play an active part in shaping our activities and future direction.


Dave Zellner
FaithInvest Executive Chair Dave Zellner
'I profoundly believe in FaithInvest's mission and am deeply committed to its success. I'm excited to bring my skills and experience to the team as we develop the next phase of services that will shape FaithInvest’s future direction and grow the faith-consistent investing movement'

Exciting new plans

His appointment comes as FaithInvest embarks upon a significant expansion of its services for faith-based asset owners (FBAOs). FaithInvest is launching an ambitious capital campaign to fund the development of new solutions to support FBAOs to address key challenges they encounter as they seek to align their investments with their values. 


The new services we plan to add to our existing portfolio include:   

  • FaithInvest Consulting, which will promote, advance and facilitate FCI services for FBAOs and their investment providers 

  • FaithInvest Advisory Services, which will develop viable faith-aligned investment solutions for FBAOs with trusted asset managers. 

 

Dave explained: 'After five years of building deep relationships with a broad group of diverse faiths and working closely to enable them to invest in line with their values, FaithInvest has learned a great deal about the challenges and obstacles they face.  

 

'Our aim is to overcome the barriers that FBAOs experience in their journey to align their assets with their faith values. That's why we're launching a major capital campaign to expand our services. We'll also aggressively partner with the investment industry to strengthen and expand their faith-based offerings, enabling them to better serve FBAOs.  

 

Catalysing faster change

Dave added: ‘My experience is that most investors aspire to be faithful stewards of the investments they control. But this desire often conflicts with the pressure felt from trustees and other stakeholders, who tend to judge performance on a quarterly and yearly basis.


'Hence, priorities and interests often evolve to deliver results aligned with the near-term expectations of governance bodies rather than alignment with what is truly in the best long-term interests of all stakeholders.'


Deeply committed

This is a cause that is very close to Dave's heart: 'I profoundly believe in FaithInvest's mission and am deeply committed to its success,' he said. 'Now that I have retired from Wespath, I am looking forward to devoting a meaningful amount of my time to provide more practical support over the next two or three years before transitioning the role to a newly appointed CEO.  

 

'I'm excited to bring my skills and experience to the team as we develop the next phase of services that will shape FaithInvest’s future direction and grow the faith-consistent investing movement.' 


 

Dave Zellner has been at the forefront of faith-consistent investing (FCI) for more than 27 years, and in many ways his personal journey mirrors that of the FCI movement. Find out what he has learned after three decades in the industry.


 

 


Notes for editor:  

  • Dave Zellner is available to discuss his plans for FaithInvest and how the faith-aligned investment movement has grown in the last three decades. Please contact the communications team below. 

  • FaithInvest is an international, not-for-profit network for religious groups and faith-based investors. We were founded in 2019 to help faith groups to invest in line with their values to create a better world – for people and planet. We support faith groups to develop faith-consistent investment policies; we do not provide investment advice or make investment decisions for faith groups.

  • More information: www.faithinvest.org  



 

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