TV preacher Pat Robertson on Monday advised his viewers to seek biblical investments like oil and gas because birth control doesn't flow through pipelines.
During the "Bring It On" segment of the 700 Club, a viewer told the televangelist that he needed some Christian financial advice.
"For years I have not invested in mutual funds for fear of investing in a company that profits from unbiblical means, such as the company who makes the abortion pill," the viewer named John wrote. "Are there 'safe' investments I can invest in with little start-up money?"
Robertson said that he had been recommending master limited partnerships (MLPs), which are tax-exempt companies that own infrastructure like pipelines necessary for the oil and gas industry.
"And they are not flowing condoms through pipelines," Robertson opined. "So, don't worry about the fact they're giving abortion pills. They're putting out oil and gas through pipelines."
"People always say, what is a safe investment? In my opinion, that is the best investment that is available for the average person today. They're utilities, and they're handling something everybody wants."
Bloomberg News reported earlier this year that many investors did not understand that the danger of MLPs was that they returned almost all of their income to shareholders as dividends, forcing them to borrow money and issue new shares to continue to grow.
“We’ve been through a remarkable period where it works really well and the returns have been great,” Houston-based investment bank executive Bobby Tudor told Bloomberg. “It just strikes us that it’s likely to be harder going forward than easier.”
Peritus Asset Management chief investment officer Timothy Gramatovich warned that MLPs were “the next great investment debacle."
“At the top, everybody’s a believer,” he said.
Watch the video below from CBN's The 700 Club, broadcast Oct. 27, 2014.
