LCMS Foundation Investments

Investment Overview

Overview (Blue words provide links to more information.)

Investment Objectives/Philosophy

The LCMS Foundation is privileged to work with both individuals and organizations seeking to be good stewards of God’s gifts. As we partner with these various entities, the Foundation takes on fiduciary responsibility. In recognition of that responsibility, our Objectives/Philosophy reflects the belief that prudent management of risks associated with long-term rewards will lead to the successful achievement of long-term investment goals.

Investment Options

The Foundation manages a wide variety of accounts with differing investment objectives. The investment choices offered by the Foundation must be suited to meet the needs of this diverse group of accounts. We start with basic asset class funds, and then combine these funds in various asset allocation investment structures to provide a variety of risk and return options. The Foundation’s Investment Options are grouped in three primary fund families, the Preference, Standard, and Trust Funds. The Preference Funds and Standard Funds are designed primarily for custodial accounts, while the Trust Funds are exclusively for charitable remainder trusts managed by the Foundation.

Fund Reports

Wilshire Associates, the Foundation’s investment consultant, calculates fund performance returns on a monthly basis. Our Fund Reports are updated as soon as this information is available. Each fund’s monthly performance report includes return information for the following periods: current month, prior month, last three months, calendar year-to-date, and one year. Annualized returns are available for three years, five years, and since inception. In addition, the report includes market value information for each fund and several measures of dividend yield. The policy index, or benchmark, is shown at the bottom of each fund’s total return performance summary. All returns are preliminary, unaudited and subject to change. Past results are no guarantee of future performance. The quarterly and annual performance reports prepared by Wilshire contain market commentary as well as performance data.

Monthly – Total return performance reports for various periods are updated each month with data provided by our investment consultant, Wilshire Associates. In addition to the total return information, fund composition data and several dividend yield calculations are provided for each fund.

Quarterly – Wilshire Associates provides a capital markets overview and a fund performance overview each quarter. They also provide an analysis of the investment holdings in each of our four Preference Funds. This analysis includes characteristics and summary statistics for the composite portfolios, as well as top ten holdings and sector allocations.

Annual – The investment section of the annual ministry report for the LCMS Foundation includes an annual capital markets overview and performance reporting for the Foundation’s fiscal year that ends on June 30.

To see any or all of these reports, go to the Fund Reports section.

Profiles

All Foundation investments are managed by outside investment management firms. These investments include both actively managed and passive, or indexed, portfolios. We use separate accounts dedicated entirely to the Foundation, as well as commingled funds. Our investment managers are selected with care and monitored closely with the assistance of our investment consultant.

Wilshire Associates, the Foundation’s investment consultant, assists the Foundation in all phases of its investment program. The Foundation is pleased to offer the following links to Wilshire Associates’ web site. While we hope that you find the information presented by Wilshire to be useful, it does not represent an official viewpoint of the LCMS Foundation and the Foundation is not responsible for any content outside its domain.

The Foundation invites you to visit Wilshire’s Web site. You may find these three links particularly beneficial:

Wilshire's history provides an overview of Wilshire Associates since their founding in 1972 and subsequent major events to date.

Wilshire's investment consulting philosophy includes guiding principles, as well as detailed information about their consulting services.

Wilshire Consulting Services’ four-page color brochure entitled "Establishing and maintaining strategic investment direction" addresses their investment process, philosophy, and general consulting services.

The LCMS Foundation has engaged the Northern Trust Company to serve as custodian for its investments. In addition to providing safe-keeping and record-keeping services, the professionals at Northern Trust have created many investment news articles, as well as economic research reports.

The Foundation is pleased to make the following information available to you through the Northern Trust Web site. While we hope that you find the information presented by Northern Trust to be useful, it does not represent an official viewpoint of the LCMS Foundation and the Foundation is not responsible for any content outside its domain.

In addition, while the information provided is based on sources that Northern Trust believes to be reliable, it cannot warrant its accuracy or completeness. Such information is subject to change and is not intended to influence your investment decisions.

Northern Trust Global Investment Strategy Newsletter is updated monthly and covers a variety of topics throughout the year. The newsletter provides an analysis of political and economic developments in world financial markets, and recommendations for possible investment strategies.

Glossary of Terms

Definitions of various financial terms used within the Investment section of our Web site have been provided for clarification purposes. Click here for a very printable PDF file of these same financial terms.