TWorld
Linked To Life
Rwandan holocaust survivor among those honored with LifeLinks jewelry.
R
ocker Bruce Springsteen, news
anchor Brian Williams, Comedy
Central's Stephen Colbert and most
recently, New York Times bestselling author
and Rwandan holocaust survivor Immaculee
Ilibagiza have been honored with the images
of LifeLinks jewelry.
Created by Glenn Wachler of Charlevoix
and his brother, Link of Troy, an interna-
tionally award-winning jewelry designer,
LifeLinks is a specific type of jewelry with
carved images representing values in a per-
son's life. There are more than 200 different
links from which to choose, some of which
include,"balance,"dream,"familY,'"love"
and "legacy."
This past November, the Wachler broth-
ers presented Ilibagiza with a bracelet and a
handcarved plaque on behalf of Angels' Place
(www.angelsplace.com), an organization
serving individuals with developmental dis-
abilities who have had a primary diagnosis
of mental retardation.
Ilibagiza spoke on peace, faith and forgive-
ness in Dearborn. She was honored for her
courage to transform her experiences of
tragedy and loss during the 1994 Rwandan
genocide into love and forgiveness, traits that
have enabled her to become a force in the
lives of many Rwandan orphans.
On behalf of Angels' Place, more than 60
custom blankets with LifeLinks images rep-
resenting Ilibagiza's life and work were cre-
ated by volunteers for her to take back with
her to Rwanda to comfort the orphans. (For
more about Ilibagiza: www.immaculee.com .)
The brothers also have been involved with
the Bob Woodruff Foundation,
(www.remind.org), which helps to heal the
physical and psychological wounds of war.
Recently, Woodruff was presented with a
custom LifeLinks bracelet. At his organiza-
tion's annual "Stand up for Heroes" benefit,
Wachler LifeLinks were given on behalf
of the organization to honor contributors
Springsteen, Williams and Colbert in addi-
tion to 50 wounded American soldiers.
"The bracelets speak to so many won-
derful things about people and highlight
the values and qualities that count most in
people': said Lee Woodruff, Bob's wife and
co-founder of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
Glenn and Link Wachler present author
Immaculee Ilibagiza with custom LifeLinks
jewelry.
A piece of Wachler
LifeLinks jewelry
"It's a gratifying feeling knowing that our
work is being used to inspire and honor
people, and to help charities raise resources
and awareness," said Link.
Link planned to travel to Tucson this
month to accept the American Gem Trade
Association's Spectrum Award. After
accepting it, he plans to sell the award-win-
ning piece, an ornate, pirate-themed skull
ring, and donate its proceeds to the organiza-
tion of the purchaser's choice.
❑
Terror-Free
Helping investment clients avoid state sponsors of terrorism.
Phoenix
F
or Southfield native and Arizona-
based money manager Mark
Langerman, it all started with a cli-
ent who had a conscience.
Upon returning from a conference on
divestment from Iran, the client informed
Langerman he wanted to "put his money
where his mouth was"
and divest from compa-
nies that do business in
countries that sponsor
terrorism. Langerman
added, "Every mutual
fund and money manager
we used had some expo-
sure to these companies."
Mark
He had to dismantle
Langerman
the entire portfolio.
He looked for a solution and when he real-
ized that none existed, he created one.
"Both personally and professionally, I did
a lot of soul-searching and realized this is
something I need to do',' Langerman said.
Terror-free investing got its start in the
22
February 11 - 2010
iN
wake of 9-11 when the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission identified the risk
associated with doing business in a state that
sponsors terrorism.
"We thought, `We need to step up to the
plate and offer a way to empower our clients
to make a difference, to participate in the
financial war on terror," Langerman said.
"The recent Christmas day terrorist attack
on the Northwest/Delta Airlines Flight 253
into Detroit illuminates one of the most
important reasons we started Empowerment
Financial Group.
"Most people don't know that many
investments, including retirement plans,
401(k), stocks and bonds, have exposure to
these companies. Our portfolios are screened
to exclude companies that do business with
state sponsors of terrorism.
"The war on terror takes many forms.
Civilians can write our elected officials, call
talk shows and write letters to the editor. We
can make a significant impact by cleansing
our investment portfolios of companies who
provide aid, comfort, technology, financial
assistance, etc., to the terrorist sponsoring
countries.
"We as Americans are subsidizing the very
people who are terrorizing us because we
invest our own money in companies who
help them. We have to do our individual part
in cutting off the dollars that flow to the ter-
rorists."
Langerman's ultimate goal is to have a
mutual fund that is terror-free. Currently,
every transaction in the portfolio is screened
for involvement in terror-sponsoring nations.
Once a quarter, the portfolio is certified ter-
ror-free by an independent research provider.
As of now, there are 586 companies on his
exclusion list.
The portfolio's strategy mirrors that of the
"green investing" movement, Langerman
said, which evolved from divestment to an
exclusionary strategy. By investing only in
companies that are "environmentally friend-
ly,' they deny "environmentally unfriendly"
companies access to that pool of capital.
Langerman likens it to building an electric
fence around the capital. Similarly, the ter-
ror-free screen denies capital to companies
that do business with Iran, Sudan, Syria and
North Korea.
For Langerman, the economic war on
terror started with one client, but has since
grown. Mobilizing investors, he recognized,
"can be a very, very powerful way to make an
impact on something as important as this."
In fact, one of his clients — a Detroit area
real estate developer — cited "good busi-
ness" as a main factor driving his decision to
invest terror-free.
"You can look at things from a religious
standpoint, you can look at things from
a moral standpoint, all of which are very
important, but some people when they're
investing will look at things from an eco-
nomic standpoint': said the investor. "Its the
right economic thing to do."
He added, "When you have choices, why
not invest in something that is promoting a
terror-free world, rather than invest in com-
panies that are investing [in] or do business
with countries or others that are invested in
state-sponsored terrorism.
For information: info@terrorfreeinvesting.com or
www.terrorfreeinvesting.com .