Faith-Based Mutual Funds
Millions of investors have traditionally used mutual funds over the last fifty-plus years. In fact, there are trillions of dollars invested in mutual funds today, and there are literally more than twelve thousand different mutual funds to choose from. Some mutual funds screen for morally or socially responsible issues, but most do not. The reason
mutual funds are so popular is that they accomplish three main goals:
1. Diversification
2. Professional management
3. Pooling money from numerous investors to allow smaller investors to participate

Why Use Mutual Funds?
The biggest reasons most people use mutual funds include the professional management and easy access. The control and management of the mutual fund are in the hands of a professional. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. The good news is that if the manager shares a similar faith and viewpoint, he may screen for hot-button issues important to you. This may enable your faith to be integrated into your portfolio. However, if the manager has opposing views or does no screening, you run the risk of owning investments that violate the principles of your faith.

What About Performance?
Another area of concern with mutual funds is long-term performance. The majority of mutual fund managers will underperform the stock market over the long run. This may or may not be a problem to you. This poses two
questions:
1. Does it really matter what the stock market returns? Underly ing question: Do you care what the index
does if you reach your financial goals?
2. Does it really matter that you underperform the stock market if your moral integrity is in check? Underlying question: If you do underperform the market because of screening, can’t God make up the difference somewhere?

Notice that each question really has an underlying question. Though mutual funds have many benefits, be
careful, as you lose control over where your investments are going.

Sample of Choices
There are many mutual fund choices for the faith-based investor. Here is a sample of the offerings:

Ave Maria Mutual Funds (Catholic faith)
www.avemariafunds.com
1-866-AVE-MARIA

LKCM Aquinas Funds (Catholic faith)
www.aquinasfunds.com
1-800-423-6369

MMA Praxis (Mennonite faith)
www.mmapraxis.com
1-800-348-7468

New Covenant Funds (Presbyterian faith)
www.newcovenantfunds.com
1-877-835-4531

Shepherd Funds (Conservative Christian)
www.shepherdfunds.com
1-800-416-2053

Steward Mutual Funds (Conservative Christian)
www.stewardmutualfunds.com
1-800-262-6631

Timothy Plan Funds (Conservative Christian)
www.timothyplan.com
1-800-846-7526