port current ministry and to preserve the purchasing power of the under- lying assets in order to fund future ministry.
Since 2010 the annual distribution rate has been 4.25 percent, and may remain at that level through 2015, barring unusual market activity. The distribution is calculated using the five-year average of the fund’s total value.
This helps churches budget with confidence by smoothing out the effects of market volatility over a lon- ger period of time, Shoemaker said. The investment adviser to Fund
A is Portico Benefit Services, a separately incorporated ministry of the ELCA that offers health, flexible spending, retirement, disability and survivor plans for rostered leaders and church lay employees and their families. Portico has $7 billion in assets under management, mostly in members’ retirement funds, and oper- ates as a self-insured health insurance provider for 35,000 of its members and their dependents. The ELCA is able to take advan- tage of the relationships Portico has established in the institutional invest- ment industry and structure a portfo- lio that uses a variety of management styles, Shoemaker said.
The fund is split roughly between 60 percent equities and 40 percent fixed income, with exposure to domestic and international compa- nies, as well as global real estate. Its diversification reduces the risk of volatility and lets participants experience smoother, more consis- tent returns over a full market cycle, Shoemaker said. John Saeger, chair of the board of trustees of the ELCA Endowment Fund, said the fund offers the mutual advantage of competitive returns and socially responsible investments. Alisa Skatrud, manager of socially responsible investing at Portico,
said, “Within the portfolio, we reflect many of the values and social state- ments of the ELCA.”
The fund screens out companies involved in gambling, pornography, tobacco, alcohol or military weap- ons deemed to have indiscriminate effects, as well as those with the most egregious records of damaging the environment or human health. If the ELCA had to hire some other investment advisers, more money could be spent on the managers rather than the purposes the gift givers intended, Skatrud noted. Larry G. Westfield, an ELCA pas- tor and regional gift planner in Wis- consin, describes Fund A as a way to be the church together. Through its regular distributions, Fund A helps support ministries beyond the weekly and annual giving campaigns that congregations offer, he said.
“It helps us... express our values by investing [money] responsibly in a way that strengthens society,” he said. “And Fund A allows us to do minis- try rather than reward shareholders by providing gift planning and fund management services to congrega- tions and other related organizations. “Our planners can work with members, congregations and orga- nizations to grow endowment gifts, ensuring ELCA ministries have funds to support their work today and into the future.
“The work [Lutheran Church of the Nativity] is able to accomplish today, and long into the future, is proof positive that establishing a mission endowment fund that uses professional investment management services is allowing them to make a big difference in their community and around the world.”
Weekly Departures Year Round! Hawaii Tour
4-Island Kings Tour 13 Days from
$1549*
This famous Hawaiian Tour has been offered by YMT every year since 1967! Discover remarkable scenery, dreamlike beaches and the “spirit of aloha” on the islands of - Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai. The tour will be accompanied throughout by one of our friendly Polynesian Tour Directors, which adds a unique cultural perspective to your tour experience.
Featured highlights: a city tour of Honolulu, world famous Waikki Beach, Punch- bowl Crater and Pearl Harbor, the Wailua River Boat Cruise, Fern Grotto, The Old Whaling Capital of Lahaina, the lao Valley, Hilo Orchard Gardens, Black Sand Beaches, Volcanoes National Park, Thurston’s Lava Tube and more.
Includes: quality hotels, inter-island flights, baggage handling, tour director, special events & escorted sightseeing on all four islands.
YMT specializes in Hawaii and has had their own office in Honolulu since 1967!
*Price per person, based on double occupancy. Add $199 tax/service/gov’t fees. $100 - $300 Seasonal rates may apply. Airfare is extra.
For reservations & details call 7 days a week: 1-800-736-7300 September 2013 31
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