The Southern Baptist entity's MyDestination Funds was the nation's first Christian-based socially screened date target fund when it was launched in August 2006.
Jeff Tjornehoj, head of Lipper Americas Research, one of the financial world's leading fund research and analysis organizations, said the Lipper awards "honor those funds that excelled at producing superior risk-adjusted returns for their investors. For that, we are pleased to recognize GuideStone's MyDestination 2025 Fund as the top Mixed-Asset Target 2025 Fund over the past three years."
The MyDestination 2025 Fund was ranked No. 1 among 92 similar funds for its performance over the three years ending Nov. 30, 2012.
Earlier in 2012, the entire GuideStone Funds family was ranked No. 1 out of 182 eligible fund families with up to $40 billion in assets, receiving Lipper's Best Overall Small Fund Group in the U.S. over the three-year period ending Nov. 30, 2011, for fund groups with at least three equity, three bond and three mixed-asset classes. GuideStone Funds was the first Christian-based socially screened fund family to win the premier Lipper honor.
The MyDestination Funds provide a simpler approach to retirement planning. Investors choose the fund that corresponds closest to their retirement date. Each MyDestination Fund is a "fund-of-funds" with a diversified asset allocation that automatically becomes more conservative as investors move to, and through, retirement. In addition to the MyDestination 2025 Fund, GuideStone Funds offers MyDestination Funds with target dates of 2005, 2015, 2035, 2045 and 2055.
GuideStone Funds has achieved its recognitions through its sophisticated proprietary manager-of-managers investment platform that leverages what GuideStone believes to be the best possible intellectual capital worldwide. The 27 funds in the GuideStone Fund group are managed by more than 20 professionals dedicated to its investment process and committed to GuideStone's biblically based, social screening guidelines.
"The Lipper Award recognizes a standard of excellence that we pursue daily," said O.S. Hawkins, GuideStone's president. "… e have a vision statement, which reads: 'GuideStone Financial Resources exists to honor the Lord by being a lifelong partner with our participants in enhancing their financial security.' The Lipper Award, we believe, gives evidence to our commitment."
GuideStone Funds was honored during an awards reception and dinner sponsored by The Wall Street Journal and Thomson-Reuters on March 14 in New York City.
"We have said many times in the past that people often think that they have to compromise their biblical integrity for investment performance," said Roddy Cummins, vice president and chief investment officer of GuideStone Funds. "We believe we continue to dispel that myth, which is evidenced by this most recent Lipper accolade."
Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company (www.lipperweb.com), provides independent insight on global collective investments, including mutual funds, retirement funds, hedge funds, fund fees and expenses to the asset management community and to the media. Lipper reports on more than 122,000 funds in 61 registered for sale universes. It provides the free Lipper Leader ratings for mutual funds registered for sale in over 30 countries.
GuideStone Funds are available to Southern Baptist and evangelical Christian churches and ministry organizations that GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention is authorized to serve. In addition, the funds are sold to individuals associated with those organizations that are eligible to utilize products and services made available by GuideStone Financial Resources. For more information, visit www.GuideStone.org.
Roy Hayhurst is senior manager of editorial services at GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
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