Christian ETF Family Outperforms Due to Equal-Weight Approach
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- FaithShares Advisors is very proud to present the initial returns for its family of Christian Exchange Traded Funds. During the turbulent times since the launch in mid-December, the funds have outperformed the broad markets' performance. "The funds' performance is really not a surprise to us," said J. Garrett Stevens, the Chief Executive Officer of FaithShares Advisors. "We specifically designed the funds with an equal-weighting of the stocks in the portfolio in an effort to outperform the broad markets during most types of market cycles. Even though it is a very short period of time, these results begin to verify the hypothetical back-testing we did." Each of the five FaithShares funds, the FaithShares Baptist Values Fund (FZB), the FaithShares Catholic Values Fund (FCV), the FaithShares Christian Values Fund (FOC), the FaithShares Lutheran Values Fund (FKL) and the FaithShares Methodist Values Fund (FMV) are re-balanced each June to have 100 large-cap equally weighted stocks in each portfolio.
While the equal weighting is the main source of excess return, so far it also appears that stock selection will play a significant role. When each of the funds' performance is compared to that of the equally-weighted S&P 500 index, there is outperformance there as well. FaithShares believes that using the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rankings from KLD Research and Analytics to select the companies in their indexes will have a significantly positive impact on the funds. "We think that using the KLD ESG ranking will allow us to have some of the best run, most ethically managed companies in the large cap universe in our portfolios," says Tom Phillips, President of FaithShares. "We also believe this will keep us from having too many negative surprises out of management such as litigation related to unethical business practices or fines from federal regulators because of poor environmental standards for example."
Investors can purchase the funds through their investment advisor or discount broker. Please see the performance table below.
FaithShares ETF Returns through January 31, 2010
NAV Return
Inception NAV Return
Fund Symbol To Date* January 2010
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FaithShares Catholic Values FCV 0.75% -3.16%
FTSE/KLD FaithShares Catholic
Values Index 0.87% -3.20%
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FaithShares Christian Values FOC 0.69% -3.19%
FTSE/KLD FaithShares Christian
Values Index 0.81% -3.23%
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FaithShares Methodist Values FMV 0.66% -3.12%
FTSE/KLD FaithShares Methodist
Values Index 0.77% -3.16%
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S&P 500 * -1.65% -3.60%
*Inception Date is 12/8/2009
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NAV Return
Inception NAV Return
Fund Symbol To Date* January 2010
---- ------ ----------- -------------
FaithShares Baptist Values FZB -2.53% -3.36%
FTSE/KLD FaithShares Baptist
Values Index -2.44% -3.29%
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FaithShares Lutheran Values FKL -2.74% -3.18%
FTSE/KLD FaithShares Lutheran
Values Index -2.68% -3.16%
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S&P 500 * -3.61% -3.60%
*Inception Date is 12/14/2009
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Expense ratio for all funds is 0.87%.
About FaithShares Advisors
Mr. Phillips and Mr. Stevens together bring over 40 years of investment experience to this endeavor. Mr. Phillips also owns a broker-dealer, T.S. Phillips Investments, Inc., which is comprised of 17 investment consultants and oversees almost $1 billion in client assets, as well as an RIA, Phillips Capital Advisors. Mr. Phillips and Mr. Stevens have worked closely together for 10 years and in that time have experienced firsthand the frustrations encountered by Christian organizations as they attempt to balance their desire for long-term investment growth with their desire to avoid objectionable industries. They currently provide investment performance analysis services for over $3 billion in investor assets. The daily operations of FaithShares will be conducted primarily by Mr. Stevens, while Mr. Phillips will take on the role of corporate spokesperson.
The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call1-877-FAITH55 (1.877.324.8455), or visit www.faithshares.com. Shares are bought and sold at market price, not NAV, and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.
Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds' prospectus, which may be obtained by calling 1-877-FAITH55 (1.877.324.8455), or by visiting www.faithshares.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
This information is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of any Fund to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility.
FaithShares Funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., which is not affiliated with FaithShares Advisors, LLC or any of its affiliates.
SOURCE FaithShares Advisors, LLC
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