Christian Financial Resources, Inc.

[pletal]

Hello, just had a couple of CD's mature, about 250K. Don't want to lock the money up for a long period. Paster at church gave me some info about Christian Financial Resources, Inc out of Florida. They have a 15 month CD paying 3 percent, not insured. Anyone have any info on the group. Thanks in advance.

[ikubak]

There are many questions to answer...what is the money for? What are your long term goals, etc. BUT...CDs that are not FDIC insured, I would not consider at all. Caveat emptor!

[urn2bfree]

I don't know anything about this firm, but I will say that if I wanted to create a name for a ripoff outfit, calling it "Christian Financial" would certainly be one way to try to cloak the firm with an air of trustworthiness for some of the suckers I would be hoping to cheat. Lots of alarm bells going off for me on this one...

[brett]

I would not touch it. Huge red flag.

Do a google on 'affinity fraud'.

I would not rely on a Pastor, or anyone else in a leadership position at my church, for financial advice.

Uninsured.....the second red flag.

There have been many, many instances of affinity fraud in church organizations throughout North America.

Many faith groups provide training for their leaderships...Pastors etc. One key message.....stay away from giving investment advice or the promotion of financial instruments.

They may be on the up and up...but why take a chance?

http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/affinity.htm

I would suggest that this Pastor is in need of some additional 'leadership' training.

[brewer12345]

I represent Douchebag Financial Resources. Sell you a 15 month CD for 4%?

[jollystomper]

Do not go chasing yield and forsaking safety. Uninsured with too little objective info about this outfit raises huge warning flags. Limited info available at Nonprofit Report for CHRISTIAN FINANCIAL RESOURCES INC .

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikubak ....BUT...CDs that are not FDIC insured, I would not consider at all. Caveat emptor!

+1 don't be foolish with your hard earned/saved money.

[FIREd]

Too many red flags, as others have pointed out. I would not entrust them with my money.

[timo2]

corporation wiki is always interesting to look at. Says here that this organization is a non-profit. and thus would not qualify for FDIC or NCUA

Christian Financial Resources, Inc. Company Profile - Located in Lake Mary, FL - Darren R. Key, Stan Percival, Strasser R. Chuck

[redduck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 I represent Douchebag Financial Resources. Sell you a 15 month CD for 4%?

I guess timing is everything. I have a CD coming due this very Friday. Brewer, do you have a link to Douchebag Financial?

[brett]

If Douchebag Financial will guarantee me 12 percent on $500K compounded monthly over five years I will put my cheque in the mail!

[jon-nyc]

I would never trust a financial company with the word 'Christian' in the name.

[bUU]

This is actually not a CD. It seems like just some sort of unsecured promissory note. Essentially, CFR is a loan broker, connecting folks with money to folks who need money. You're essentially betting that the borrowers won't default, and that they'll pay you a reasonable amount of interest.

A better bet, along the same lines, would be a highly-rated floating rate fund, such as BFRAX. My financial planner says that this is a better place to be, as compared to bond funds, though I think he's trying to bring us to that boat too late - that floating rate funds are already bid up in price and won't hold value over the long run. That's another issue though... The main point here is that this CFP stuff is not a substitute for CDs, but rather is a very poor substitute for a floating rate fund.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I recommend my investment company, Faith-Based Investments. Give me your money and pray you can get it back.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redduck I guess timing is everything. I have a CD coming due this very Friday. Brewer, do you have a link to Douchebag Financial?

Nope, but you have given me a great idea for a blog.

[frayne]

Personally, I don't think it is ethical for a pastor to be suggesting financial investments. Just my two cents.

[Ready]

I don't understand how anyone could think that a 3 percent return on a so called "CD" is a reasonable return for a non FDIC insured investment. Clearly this pastor should not be dispensing financial advice to anyone. Perhaps he gets a commission on any deal he brings in?

[bUU]

Personally, I don't see any difference between a pastor recommending this investment and a pastor asserting that the amount of a tithe has some correlation to God's grace. :shrug:

[Sesq]

Some guy called into Bob Brinker over the weekend (or was it Ric Edlemen) and asked why people don't do what he does, which is participate in making loans to churches. He sunk his whole 250K nest egg into this and claimed to be getting 6-8% loaning money to churches, laddered to 20+ years.

The host asked if he had any defaults, he said yes, but that a reserve fund had paid him restitution. Then the host asked the killer question - can you redeem or sell these things. The caller said no, you generally gotta hold to term, but he had managed to redeem a small amount here and there.

I could only think of that show on CNBC, American Greed.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pletal They have a 15 month CD paying 3 percent, not insured.

Local banks in my area are offering 10 years CD's, insured for about 1.25%.

IMHO, you would be wise to put a high priority on return of capital, not just return on capital.