A South Carolina financial planner has added new meaning to what faith in the stock market can do for investors.

Jay Peroni

Jay Peroni, author of two books on faith-based investing, says his “Faith-Based Portfolio,” a collection of investments based on values and faith, has a 35.5% return so far this year.

The investment returns for Peroni, a certified financial planner with an office in Abingdon, Va., compare to the 9.43% return so far this year for S&P 500 investments, according to a statement from Peroni.

Peroni’s firm, Values First Advisors, uses separate account management, which is similar to mutual funds in many ways, but allow individual investors access to institutional-quality money managers at reduced account minimums. Within this structure, the investor directly owns the securities in the portfolio, and can impose restrictions against the purchase of specific securities as a means of customizing the portfolio for personal requirements, according to the firm’s website.

Peroni left a job at a national brokerage firm to form South Carolina-based Values First Advisors, which also has offices in Tennessee. The firm specializes in “socially responsible” investing to find investing solutions that are both profitable and in-line with the values of his clients, he said. Peroni is author of The Faith Based Millionaire and The Faith Based Investor.