Issue #3 — March 21, 2026
Spring is nature's season of renewal — and it's the perfect time to review and rebalance your faith-aligned portfolio. This comprehensive guide walks you through everything you need to know.
Why Rebalance?
Over time, market movements cause your portfolio to drift from its target allocation. A stock that was 5% of your portfolio in January might now be 8% — or 3%. Rebalancing brings things back in line.
For faith-based investors, rebalancing serves a dual purpose:
- Risk management — Prevents overconcentration in any single position or sector
- Values realignment — Ensures your portfolio still reflects your principles as companies evolve
Think of rebalancing as a spiritual practice for your portfolio. Just as regular prayer or meditation keeps your inner life aligned, periodic portfolio review keeps your financial life aligned with your values.
The Spring Rebalancing Checklist
Step 1: Review Your Alignment Score
Open your Mustard dashboard and check your overall alignment score. If it's dropped below 85%, investigate which holdings are causing the drift.
Common reasons for alignment drift:
- A company changed its practices (e.g., entered a new business line that conflicts with your screens)
- Market movements increased the weight of a partially-aligned holding
- You added new positions without checking alignment first
Step 2: Check Sector Concentration
Healthy diversification typically means no single sector exceeds 25% of your portfolio. Use Mustard's Portfolio page to review your sector breakdown.
Faith-based screens can sometimes create unintentional sector concentration. For example, excluding fossil fuels removes most of the Energy sector. Make sure you've replaced that exposure with clean energy alternatives.
Step 3: Evaluate New Principles
Your faith understanding evolves — and so should your screens. Mustard regularly adds new principles based on community feedback. Check if any newly available screens resonate with your values.
Step 4: Review Your Auto-Invest Allocation
If you're using auto-invest, make sure the allocation still matches your target. As your portfolio grows, you may want to:
- Add new positions to increase diversification
- Adjust weights to favor sectors you're underweight in
- Increase contribution if your income has grown
Step 5: Tax-Loss Harvest (Optional)
If any faith-misaligned holdings are sitting at a loss, spring is a good time to sell them. You'll improve your alignment score AND potentially harvest a tax benefit. Win-win.
Market Outlook: What to Watch This Quarter
Three trends to monitor as we head into Q2 2026:
- AI governance regulations — New EU rules may affect tech holdings. Companies with strong ethical AI practices are better positioned
- ESG reporting standardization — The SEC's new disclosure rules take effect in April. More data means better screening
- Emerging market opportunities — Microfinance and community banking in developing nations offer high-impact, faith-aligned investment options
Model Portfolios by Faith Tradition
Here's how our model portfolios are allocated for spring 2026:
Conservative Stewardship (Risk Score: Low)
- 40% Faith-screened bonds
- 30% Dividend-paying blue chips (values-aligned)
- 20% Clean energy ETFs
- 10% Community development investments
Balanced Growth (Risk Score: Moderate)
- 35% Values-aligned US equities
- 25% International ethical funds
- 20% Clean energy & sustainable tech
- 15% Faith-screened bonds
- 5% Impact investments
Growth & Impact (Risk Score: Higher)
- 45% Growth stocks (faith-screened)
- 25% Clean energy & innovation
- 15% International emerging markets
- 10% Impact-first investments
- 5% Faith-screened bonds
You can use Mustard's auto-invest feature to gradually shift toward any of these allocations. Set up weekly contributions and let dollar-cost averaging do the work.
Your Spring Action Plan
- Check alignment score and investigate any flagged holdings
- Review sector concentration — aim for no sector above 25%
- Explore new principles in your Mustard settings
- Update auto-invest allocation if needed
- Consider tax-loss harvesting misaligned positions
Happy spring rebalancing. Your portfolio — and your principles — will thank you.