Investment Fund Performance
Q1 2023 UPDATE / APRIL 4, 2023
Investment Update
Q1 2023 built on Q4 2022 gains but not without volatility and significant market headlines:
- Bank industry fragility dominated the headlines with Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Credit Suisse failures/mergers causing spike in volatility
- Fed hiked rates 25 basis points at March meeting, markets expect cuts in late 2023
- Inflation continues to moderate, employment remains strong
- Equity and fixed income markets in positive territory, despite banking uncertainty
With bank failures dominating the headlines, we wanted to reassure you our bank deposits are FDIC / NCUA insured via our banking partners through demand deposits and certificates of deposit under the insurance limits. Stock market and bond investments in the Diversified Fund, Endowment Investment Fund, and Fixed Income Fund are subject to market risk but are highly diversified across varying asset classes, company sizes, and geography.
U.S. stocks in the S&P 500 were up 7.5% for the quarter. Small-cap stocks in the Russell 2000 gained 2.7%. International developed market stocks in the MSCI EAFE index increased 8.5%. Bonds continued to recover with the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index up 3.0%. Additional Q1 comments from Wespath can be found at: https://www.wespath.com/Investor-Resources/Blog/Q1-2023-Takeaways
| Mar. 31, 2023 Performance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| FUND | YTD | 1-YR | 3-YR |
Diversified FundLipper Median* | 5.5% 4.4% | (7.2%) (6.2%) | 9.4% 8.7% |
Endowment InvestmentLipper Median* | 5.5% 4.4% | (7.2%) (6.2%) | 9.4% 8.7% |
Fixed IncomeBloomberg US Aggregate Index | 3.1% 3.0% | (4.2%) (4.8%%) | (0.3%) (2.8%) |
*- Median returns from the Lipper mutual fund universe for balanced funds in the asset class category. As of 4/11/2023, universe consisted of 4,097 peers. Source: Wilshire Associates, Lipper, and Wespath
Fund Details – Q1 2023
Online Giving
If your church does not have the ability to receive online or electronic gifts, your members can make gifts online at https://lastinggood.org/donate/. They have the option to make a one-time gift or a recurring weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly gift for a specified time via bank account draft or debit/credit card. At the end of the transaction, there is a Message section where they can designate their gift for their church, ministry, and any special instructions. We will then forward the funds to your church to fund ministry. We do not charge a fee for this service but there is a 2.75% processing fee charged by the bank for debit/credit cards. There is no fee for bank account drafts.
Online Account Statements
If you are still receiving paper statements and would like the convenience and quicker receipt of statements, please complete the Google form here: Online Statement Request Form. Online statements are generally available on the second business day of each month. You will receive an email notification when they are available. You also have access to the previous 12 months of statements online.