25% of U.S. compliance and legal leaders report that their organization experienced a significant integrity incident including major fraud, security breach, or regulatory violation in the past two years (EY Global Integrity Report).

Integrity still exists, but incentives don’t always align.

And responsibility to invest wisely ultimately falls on those who are allocating the capital with which they have been entrusted.

But it is more than just an ethical issue; it is also a question of wise stewardship. Organizations with greedy leadership often see comparatively poorer long-term outcomes than their counterparts particularly during tumultuous times and economic downturns.

And with lawsuits on the rise, litigation rates soaring as 82% of organizations were involved in at least one lawsuit in 2024, investors are operating in an increasingly complex risk environment.

An environment that calls investors to allocate capital to leaders who may be exposing their organizations and stakeholders to additional risk, whether through regulatory scrutiny, litigation, or customer backlash, raises a deeper question about what wise stewardship actually requires.

A recent example highlights just how real and difficult to detect this risk can be.

In early 2026, a major private auto parts supplier to Ford Motor Company, First Brands Group, collapsed into bankruptcy after its founders were indicted for allegedly fabricating and double-pledging inventory used to secure billions in financing, despite reporting roughly $5 billion in annual sales.

On top of the cost, described as the most expensive parts deal in the history of the auto supply industry, engaging with an organization that defrauded investors also directly contradicted the values that Ford espouses.

It’s a reminder that even sophisticated organizations can miss underlying integrity issues in private transactions, making it all the more important for investors to think carefully about who they are ultimately trusting with their capital.

So how can investors recognize greed in leadership?

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) demonstrate that perpetrators of occupational fraud frequently exhibit six common behavioral red flags in leaders:

In other words, personal patterns of greed or poor self-control outside of the workplace often connect to greed and poor self-control within the workplace.

We can't always detect greed from a pitch deck or a set of financials. The best way to identify it is to encounter the person, not just the organization they manage. And the clearest place character reveals itself? At home.

That's what made my conversation with John Knowlton so compelling this week

John takes the business structures that he successfully applied building a $4B AUM investment advisory firm and applied them to his family. A family governance system that lovingly empowers each person to live their values more fully. For generations.

We can't outrun our sinful nature. But we can build structures that keep us honest … and recognize dishonesty. John's done exactly that at work and at home.

Have a blessed week,

Matt

For informational purposes only. This content does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice, nor a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

The Vatican Bank's new "Catholic" investment indexes, developed with Morningstar, have drawn scrutiny for including companies that fund abortion-related benefits prompting experts to warn that truly Catholic investing requires rigorous, transparent moral screening, not just ESG-style branding.

A former broker and church board member, Olof Olsson, has been charged with stealing $3.8 million from the Swedish Church of New York over six years forging financial statements to hide the theft and spending the funds on personal expenses and risky investments in what legal experts are calling a textbook case of affinity fraud.

For informational purposes only. This content does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice, nor a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

Screening is the process of filtering investment opportunities based on defined criteria.

For informational purposes only. This content does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice, nor a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

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