Invest in what matters

Transcription

1 Invest in what matters A fund family of Everence

2 Invest in your world The goal of most investors is to achieve a positive return, with success typically measured in annualized percentages. While this is an important measure, a growing number of people are looking for more. They want to know Do the companies I invest in make a positive or negative impact on the world? Do the products produced by the companies I own support life or harm it? What can I do to encourage companies to adopt responsible practices? How can I invest in projects that improve the quality of life in my community and around the world? Having a positive effect on the world is a return that matters beyond just dollars and cents. The good news is that you get all of this and more. Invest in what matters. Invest in Praxis Mutual Funds. Praxis Mutual Funds are advised by Everence Capital Management.

3 Integrate your faith and values The Great Commandment tells us to: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31 When we apply the Great Commandment to our money, it means we need to be just as concerned about the impact of our investments on others as we are about the financial returns we receive. At Praxis, we do this through stewardship investing a philosophy of financial decision making that balances social and financial considerations and is motivated and informed by our faith convictions. Core values help us maintain focus Our core values embrace a wide range of the social concerns our faith calls us to contemplate, as well as traditional, prudent, financial considerations. 1. We respect the dignity and value of all people. 2. We seek to build a world at peace and free from violence. 3. We expect companies to demonstrate a concern for justice in a global society. 4. We look for companies that exhibit responsible management practices. 5. We look for companies that contribute their people, expertise and resources to support and develop their communities. 6. We expect companies to respect the limits of our natural resources and work toward environmental sustainability. These six values guide how we approach stewardship investing, express our best expectations for corporate behavior, and provide a consistent standard for current and future investments. 3

4 Stewardship investing For Praxis, there are three elements of stewardship investing we believe can make a difference in our world: company selection, shareholder advocacy and community development investing. Company selection Recognizing that no company is perfect, we seek to carefully balance performance with the desire to avoid those companies whose practices go against our core values. Praxis collaborates with recognized social research firms in the development and enforcement of company selection guidelines. Using our stewardship investing core values as a guide, restricted lists are created for domestic and international companies that fall short of our social criteria for investment. Companies on our restricted lists are excluded from the Praxis investment universe. In a few cases, exceptions are made for companies with which we are engaged in productive shareholder dialogue or that are making notable progress on areas that concern us. Company selection is constantly under review and the restricted lists are updated regularly. For example, an accepted manufacturing company might become excluded due to a recent move into military contracting, while a onceexcluded energy company may move back to our investment universe due to an improving environmental record. 4

5 Shareholder advocacy As shareholders, we take stock ownership seriously and communicate with corporate management about both financial and social returns. By working with other concerned institutional investors through organizations such as the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, we communicate with company executives through direct dialogue, shareholder resolutions and proxy voting. These practices allow us to bear witness to our values and advocate for those who have no voice in corporate circles. Minerals in conflict In the Democratic Republic of Congo, brute force and human rights abuses miners including children are and the profit made from the sale forced to work through the use of of these minerals finances and fuels rape and violence. The reason for the continued violence that has claimed oppression: the extraction of minerals millions of lives in eastern Congo. essential in the manufacturing of our most common electronic devices. Praxis Mutual Funds is working with other concerned investors to help These so-called conflict minerals electronics producers and retailers include tin, tantalum, tungsten and pursue ways to end the conflict min- gold, and are regularly found in erals industry. As a result, companies electronic devices we use every day, are beginning to develop far-rang- such as laptops, DVD players and cell ing ecological criteria and sustain- phones. The minerals are mined in ability guidelines for their products situations involving armed conflict, and suppliers. Photo by Sasha Lezhnev for the Enough Project 5

6 Community development investing We place 1 percent or more of each fund s net assets in established organizations working to improve neighborhoods. These investments seek first to generate a significant social return for disadvantaged people and communities; and second, to provide a modest, secure return to the funds. It is an opportunity to open doors of economic hope for those with skill, passion and determination, but without access to the necessary capital to make their vision a reality. Helping families find safety and stability For most families, a place to people with special needs, and call home is a source of stability children needing a dependable and safety. place to call home. Fortunately, an organization in And the need for its services is which Praxis invests is helping growing. Fallout from the recession thousands of families in the U.S. is forcing more people to seek the find affordable housing. This means help that Mercy Housing provides. stronger families. It means helping children lead healthier lives. More people than ever need stable, quality, program-enriched, Mercy Housing, based in Denver, affordable housing, says Sister Colo., develops and operates affordable housing in 41 states across chief executive officer. Our work Lillian Murphy, RSM, Mercy Housing the nation. It also offers programs would not be possible without that help residents find jobs, learn support from our partners. skills, and improve their lives. It serves more than 117,000 people This faith-based organization also a day including families, seniors, uses wide-ranging resources to provide support for residents. In fact, volunteers recently constructed a playground at one of Mercy s housing units in Commerce City, Colo. giving nearly 200 children a safe place to play. Photo courtesy of Mercy Housing Inc. 6

7 Put your faith and values into action Join the growing number of like-minded people who are investing in what matters most to them, by putting their faith and values into action. Every investment, large or small, is a part of following the Great Commandment. Praxis Mutual Funds are different in subtle ways, like the flexibility to add a charitable gift option to your estate plan so you can transfer funds to charities of your choice upon your death. Or, set up an income tithing plan, so that dividends from your fund investments go straight to supporting your selected charities. Establish your own stewardship investing program with Praxis Mutual Funds. See your financial advisor for more information. Call us at (800) Visit us online at praxismutualfunds.com. 7

8 We make it simple Praxis Mutual Funds provide easy-to-use options and services. Low minimum investments allow you to open a Praxis account for as little as $1,000 in a Genesis Portfolio or $2,500 in an individual fund. With just $50 per fund in a Genesis Portfolio or $100 for an individual fund, you can enroll in an auto-invest plan that deducts your monthly investment from your checking account, and deposits it directly into your Praxis Mutual Fund. Multiple dividend options allow you to take dividends in cash, or have them reinvested* in additional fund shares. Dividends can also be directed automatically to support your favorite charities through the Praxis income tithing plan. An auto withdrawal plan enables you to make regular withdrawals from your Praxis account by check or electronic transfer. A $10,000 minimum balance is required. A full range of retirement plans is available, including: Traditional, Roth, Coverdell Education and rollover IRAs for individuals. Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) and Savings Incentive Match Plans (SIMPLE) for small businesses. 403(b) plans for employees of churches, schools, hospitals and nonprofit organizations. Praxis Mutual Funds include investments in a variety of holdings. Visit praxismutualfunds.com for details on all options. *Although your dividends are reinvested, you are still required to pay dividends tax each year, if this is a taxable account. You should consider the fund s investment objectives, risks and charges and expenses carefully before you invest. The fund s prospectus or summary prospectus contains this and other information. Call (800) or visit praxismutualfunds.com for a prospectus or summary prospectus, which you should read carefully before you invest. Praxis Mutual Funds are advised by Everence Capital Management and distributed through BHIL Distributors LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment products offered are not FDIC insured, may lose value and have no bank guarantee. The Fund s stewardship investing strategy could cause the fund to sell or avoid securities that may subsequently perform well, and the application of social screens may cause the fund to lag the performance of its index. Praxis Mutual Funds is a leading faithbased, socially responsible family of mutual funds designed to help people and groups integrate their finances with their values. Praxis is the mutual fund family of Everence Financial, a comprehensive faith-based financial services organization helping individuals, organizations and congregations. To learn more, visit praxismutualfunds.com and everence.com, or call (800) Praxis Mutual Funds 1110 N. Main St. P.O. Box 483 Goshen, IN (800) (574) praxismutualfunds.com Everence offers credit union services that are federally insured by NCUA. We also offer securities and other products that are not federally insured and are subject to loss of principal. All products are not available in all states Everence Printed on recycled FSC certified paper A fund family of Everence