These are tumultuous times in world financial markets and can be disheartening for investors. If your investments are primarily retirement related, remember that you are invested for long-term growth and should not let short-term changes in the market’s value affect your long-term planning. While it is tempting to react emotionally to the unavoidable ups and downs of the market, history has shown the well-diversified, long-term investment approach to be resilient in the most troublesome markets.
GuideStone Funds offers 20 different mutual funds across a spectrum of international and domestic stocks and bonds. Investing for the long term brings with it unavoidable ups and downs along the way. However, by investing in mutual funds, an investor has the added benefit of diversification in a large number of companies that operate in a wide range of industries. In fact, mutual fund regulations limit the amount that a diversified mutual fund can invest in any one company.
While diversification will not eliminate the possibility of investment loss in times like these, it does limit investors’ financial exposure to the performance of any individual company in which the Funds invest. GuideStone’s multi-manager investment approach provides an additional level of diversification by providing access to multiple, carefully selected, world-class investment management firms within a single investment fund.
Additionally, the Fund managers must trade in bonds and stocks within the designated investment strategy. For example, the GuideStone International Equity Fund invests mainly in a diversified portfolio of stocks of foreign companies in countries having economies considered to be developed. While managers in this Fund may have the option of purchasing some stocks in undeveloped countries, they may not purchase domestic (U.S.) stocks or bonds.
While the Funds are professionally managed, each of our investors is responsible for choosing the Fund(s) that best fits his investment needs. To aid you in this, our GuideStone Funds Web site offers you Fund Fact Sheets on each of the Funds and explains each of the Fund’s strategy, objective, suitability, sub-advisers and benchmark.
Ultimately, the Fund(s) in your portfolio are your choice. You choose the strategy, you choose the allocation of your account within a specific Fund and you choose when you want to move Funds. We’d remind you that as a long-term investor, you should remain calm, consider your financial goals and not let your emotions guide important investment decisions.
Investors should periodically re-evaluate their asset allocation throughout their investing career. Generally, persons who are just beginning their career may choose to be more heavily invested in stocks while most persons who are within five to 10 years of retirement should consider a more conservative allocation of stocks and bonds. As your time horizon for needing to draw on your account grows shorter, a more conservative asset allocation helps to reduce the investment risk in your portfolio.
We realize many of our participants feel that they do not have the time or the expertise to choose the funds that are right for them. That’s why GuideStone Funds provides a series of mutual funds, the MyDestination Funds™. These funds are date target or life cycle funds which are diversified “funds-of-funds” that have an asset allocation that gradually becomes more conservative as you approach and move through retirement. You simply choose the fund closest to your retirement date, make appropriate contributions, and the asset allocation is adjusted to become more conservative as you approach that retirement date. The MyDestination Funds™ may be a wise choice for an investor who desires a simple investing approach, wants professional management with automatic reallocation and is willing to pay an additional expense in order to receive a more comprehensive level of asset management services.
We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and answer questions you may have regarding the Funds. Please don’t hesitate to browse our Web site and learn more about our Funds, or to learn more about what GuideStone is doing to respond to the current market conditions.