DALLAS – GuideStone Funds, launched just 15 days before the
9/11 terrorist attacks, has prospered through a turbulent decade that included
two recessions and a national financial crisis.
The nation’s largest Christian-based, socially screened registered mutual fund
company, GuideStone Funds was launched as AB Funds Trust on Aug. 27, 2001, when
GuideStone was still known officially as the Annuity Board of the Southern
Baptist Convention.
A decade ago, GuideStone Funds offered 13 options; today, that number has
doubled.
Throughout GuideStone Funds’ first 10 years, third-party ranking firms such as
fi360, Lipper and Morningstar have ranked the funds as rivaling competitors.
For the quarter ending June 30 of this year, fi360 ranked the GuideStone Funds
family second out of 222 fund families nationwide.
“The historic launch of GuideStone Funds paved the way to providing our participants
with more flexibility and confidence in their portfolios through
industry-standard product offerings,” John Jones, president of GuideStone Funds
and chief operating officer of GuideStone Financial Resources, said in
conjunction with a 10th anniversary celebration by employees at GuideStone’s
offices in Dallas on Aug. 29.
“It heightened the level of service we provide our participants, as many of our
employees have more advanced training, securities licenses and professional
designations,” Jones noted. The launch of the registered mutual fund family
also provided enhanced disclosures and transparency for GuideStone’s
participants – today numbering more than 200,000 across all GuideStone product
lines – to understand their investment choices.
“It also opened the door to expanded savings opportunities with IRAs and
personal investment options as well as institutional investment opportunities
for operating, building reserves and endowment assets,” Jones said.
“The GuideStone Funds are built on the investment philosophy developed by the
funds adviser, GuideStone Capital Management,” Jones said. “The multi-manager,
multi-style investment approach allows GuideStone Capital Management access to
what they believe to be some of the best investment minds in the world.”
“Our investment structure is built for the long-term,” said Rodric E. Cummins,
senior vice president and chief investment officer of GuideStone Capital
Management. “It is designed to provide thoughtful, high-quality, strategic
investment options to our participants and is executed by world-class
investment management firms.”
In addition to the fi360 standings, Lipper noted 15 of 21 GuideStone funds
performed above the median for the one-year period ending July 31 of this year;
19 of 20 funds performed above the median in the three-year period; and 11 of
14 funds performed above the median for the five-year period. Morningstar has
ranked 17 of 19 funds GuideStone funds as either four- or three-star overall in
the three-year period and 12 of 12 funds in the five-year period.
Noting the fund family’s track record, Cummins said the first decade for
GuideStone Funds has been a story of sustainability through turmoil.
“Over the past 10 years we’ve been able to do more than stand strong,” Cummins
said. “We’ve been able to expand our fund offerings for the benefit of our
participants, implementing investment philosophies that we believe serve them
best without forgoing our convictions.
“In short, GuideStone Funds holds to the exact same tenets today that we held
to 10 years ago, and those will be the same tenets we hold to 10 or even 100
years from now,” Cummins said. “In addition, as the GuideStone Funds rankings
demonstrate, we believe we have dispelled the myth that if you want your money
to grow, you have to invest in things you might wish you didn’t have to.
“While past performance is no guarantee of future results, our participants can
see for themselves by looking at our results and recognizing that performance
and values-based investing do not have to be mutually exclusive,” Cummins said.
“They can walk hand-in-hand.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Roy Hayhurst is editorial services manager for GuideStone
Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.)
GuideStone offers new investment option
by Brock Anderson
GuideStone Financial Resources has announced a new
investment fund intended to achieve long-term returns consistent with the
equity (stock) market but with less short-term fluctuation.
The new Defensive Market Strategies Fund will be part of two GuideStone Asset
Allocation Funds: the Conservative Allocation Fund and the Balanced Allocation
Fund. It also will be part of the MyDestination Funds, which become more
conservative as the target date approaches. At its launch, the Defensive Market
Strategies Fund will be part of the MyDestination 2005, 2015 and 2025 funds.
The Defensive Market Strategies Fund also is available for direct investment. Participants
who want to determine if the fund is an appropriate part of their retirement
investment portfolio can access GuideStone’s free financial advice tool, GPS:
Guided Planning Services. Participants can access it by logging in to their
accounts at MyGuideStone.org or by setting up an appointment by calling
1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433).
“GuideStone is privileged to once again enhance our fund selection for the
benefit of our valued participants,” said John Jones, chief operating officer
of GuideStone Financial Resources and president of GuideStone Funds. “We’re
excited to add this fund as an option to potentially help our participants further
diversify their portfolios.”
Investors who want to learn more about the Defensive Market Strategies Fund can
review its fact sheet at GuideStoneFunds.org/Funds.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Brock Anderson is senior editor of marketing
development/retirement for GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern
Baptist Convention.)