Lipper also recognized the MyDestination 2025, 2035 and 2045 funds with No. 1 rankings for the one-year period ending March 31, based on total return. The MyDestination 2025 Fund was ranked No. 1 of 102 funds in the Mixed-Asset Target 2025 Funds category; the MyDestination 2035 Fund was ranked No. 1 of 97 funds in the Mixed-Asset Target 2035 Funds category; and the MyDestination 2045 Fund was ranked No. 1 of 96 funds in the Mixed-Asset Target 2045 Funds category.
Based on GuideStone's analysis of the peer groups that the MyDestination 2025, 2035 and 2045 funds are included in, no other fund family has three No. 1-ranked funds for the one-year period ending March 31, 2011.
In other rankings, GuideStone's Extended-Duration Bond Fund (GS4 class) was ranked No. 2 of 114 funds for the five-year period ending March 31; the Extended-Duration Bond Fund (GS2 class) No. 2 of 122 funds for the three-year period and No. 3 of 127 funds for the one-year period; and the Extended-Duration Bond Fund (GS4 class) No. 3 of 122 funds and No. 4 of 127 funds for the three- and one-year periods, respectively.
(The share classes are defined in each prospectus and relate to eligibility of participants and plan size.)
Lipper Rankings are widely recognized as the industry's standard by asset managers, fund companies and financial intermediaries. The rankings compare the performance of mutual funds having similar investment objectives and include both socially screened and unscreened funds. Rankings are subject to change monthly.
"We continue to post positive gains as the markets continue to recover from the recent recession," said John R. Jones, chief operating officer of GuideStone Financial Resources and president of GuideStone Funds. "We continue to be pleased that our funds are being recognized by an industry ranking firm like Lipper. This ranking is a testimony to the hard work of GuideStone Capital Management and our sub-advisers."
Lipper's results also note that 12 of GuideStone's 13 funds in the GS2 class and 16 of 21 in the GS4 class met or exceeded median returns within their respective peer universe, based upon risk-adjusted returns for the one year-period ending March 31, 2011.
To find all Lipper results for individual funds, visit www.GuideStoneFunds.org/Lipper. Retirement plan participants who want to determine if any of the funds mentioned are an appropriate component of their portfolio can use GPS: Guided Planning Services by logging into their accounts at www.MyGuideStone.org.
Meanwhile, GuideStone Funds were ranked No. 8 among their 212 peers for the period ending March 31 by fi360 Fund Family Fiduciary Rankings.
To determine these standings, mutual fund and exchange-traded fund families are ranked by the fi360 Fund Family Fiduciary Rankings based on the percentage of the individual funds in a family that have a fi360 Fiduciary Score Quarter in the top quartile of their peer group. Fund families must contain at least five distinct funds with a three-year history to be considered in the report.
GuideStone Funds ranked higher than many well-known household names in the mutual fund industry.
"All of us at GuideStone Funds are committed to providing an excellent array of funds for our retirement plan participants, our retail investors and our institutional clients," Jones said. "Day in and day out, our commitment is to provide our participants Christian-based, socially screened mutual funds which compare favorably to peers that do not have Christian values embedded."
Adapted from reports by Roy Hayhurst & Brock Anderson of GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Copyright (c) 2011 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net