The regular meeting of the Bountiful Latter-day Saint Investment Advisory Council (hereafter “AC”) convened on November 18, 2025 and was entitled: “Impact Investing: Anxiously Engaged in a Good Cause.” The meeting was attended by roughly 15 individuals who have been selected to be members of the AC based on their unique professional and personal qualifications. There were additional observers in an attendance as well. Below is a brief summary of the topics discussed, the key takeaways, and actions resulting from the discussion.
Topic: Including additional principles in the Abundant Life Framework (A.L. Framework).
Takeaways: When considering principles that may be missing from the proposed A.L. Framework, several ideas were raised. One participant suggested an emphasis on civility and civil dialogue. These concepts would fit nicely within the “Enhancing the Common Good” pillar of the Framework. Another participant suggested including the concept of repentance and remediation as a positive screen that would capture companies that are demonstrably and intentionally improving.
Action: Bountiful will consider the recommendations within the context and objectives of the A.L. Framework and will seek feedback from other advisory councils on the suggestions.
Topic: Assessing the need for a framework that acts as a unifier of faith communities and others with shared values.
Takeaways: The Council challenged the premise that a common framework is required that appeals to multiple faith communities and those shared moral convictions and values. The risk of trying to craft a framework that appeals to everybody is that the framework becomes over-generalized and ends up appealing to nobody.
Action: Bountiful understands the need to better articulate the benefits that come from building an impact investment framework that appeals broadly to people of faith. This Council represents the first step in gauging sentiment and feedback on the proposal. Bountiful continues to conduct market research to validate and improve the approach.
Topic: The need for a framework that acts as a unifier of faith communities and others with shared values.
Takeaways: Focusing on positive impact should be more fun and rewarding for investors. At the same time, it almost seems more complex than the exclusionary frameworks we have discussed before. This complexity could pose challenges. It may be difficult to articulate the approach to investment advisors and, in turn, to investors and prompts them to action.
Action: Bountiful’s objective is to frame impact investing in a way that calls people to action. Bountiful will continue to hone its messaging through market outreach to ensure simplicity in messaging and to demonstrate how impact investing can facilitate positive change.
Topic: Balancing both the negative and positive externalities arising from business activities.
Takeaways: When we speak of positive impact, we often frame it in black-or-white or binary terms. Even the newest and most innovative technologies that were developed to be “sustainable” have negative impacts. Ensuring a balanced approach to assessing impact will be important for the credibility of a product.
Action: Bountiful’s approach already seeks to capture the nuance of impact. We acknowledge the importance of existing and proven technologies for overall human flourishing. Bountiful likewise acknowledges that new technologies can introduce new negative impacts. Bountiful will consider how to best articulate and implement an approach that balances positive and negative impact.