Ave Maria Mutual Funds is a U.S.

mutual fund A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV i ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

that targets clients interested in financially sound investments in companies that do not violate certain religious principles of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Often described as

socially responsible investing Socially responsible investing (SRI), social investment, sustainable socially conscious, "green" or ethical investing, is any investment strategy which seeks to consider both financial return and social/environmental good to bring about social ...

(SRI), this practice is more accurately in the case of Ave Maria Mutual Funds called morally responsible investing (MRI) or faith-based investing.

History

The first of its funds was established in 2001. As of December 31, 2021, the Ave Maria Mutual Funds had over $3.0 billion in assets under management. Most of that money is invested in the Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund (Ticker: AVEDX), the firm's flagship fund, Ave Maria Growth Fund (AVEGX) and Ave Maria Value Fund (AVEMX). Other funds include Ave Maria Bond Fund (AVEFX), Ave Maria World Equity Fund (AVEWX) and Ave Maria Focused Fund (AVEAX). The six Ave Maria Mutual Funds are managed by Plymouth, Michigan-based Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. The firm was established in 1980 by George P. Schwartz, CFA. There is also an Ave Maria Money Market Account, which is really a

money market fund A money market fund (also called a money market mutual fund) is an open-ended mutual fund that invests in short-term debt securities such as US Treasury bills and commercial paper. Money market funds are managed with the goal of maintaining a hi ...

managed by Pittsburgh, PA based

Federated Investors Federated Hermes is an investment manager headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1955 and incorporated on October 18, 1957, the company manages $624 billion of customer assets, as of Sept. 30, 2022. The company offe ...

. The Catholic Equity Fund merged into Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund on March 30, 2007. Schwartz also began offering an Ave Maria Separately Managed Account (Ave Maria SMA) product in late 2009.

Investments

According to the fund family prospectus and website, the company screens its investments first on financial criteria, then eliminates companies involved in the practice of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

or whose policies are morally (though not necessarily ethically) anti-family. What constitutes anti-family practices is based on moral judgments made by the company's Catholic Advisory Board and the

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book for ...

. Examples cited by the fund family include companies distributing

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

, and companies with policies that they view undermine the

sacrament of marriage Marriage in the Catholic Church, also known as holy matrimony, is the "covenant by which a man and woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procre ...

. Involvement with contraception and infanticide (aka abortion) also disqualify a company from the fund, as does embryonic stem cell research. Unlike other ethical funds, however, it does not reject defense companies, alcohol, or tobacco (other common SRI-screened areas)."A Catholic View of Investing"
''New York Times'', December 18, 2008

Catholic Advisory Board

In defining its process for screening investments based on religious principles, the board members are "guided by the

magisterium The magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the Word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition." According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Chur ...

of the Catholic Church and actively seek the advice and counsel of Catholic clergy". As of November 28, 2022, the board consists of the following members: *

Raymond Arroyo Raymond Arroyo (born September 20, 1970) is an American author, journalist, and producer. He is the news director and lead anchor of EWTN News, the news division of the Eternal Word Television Network. He is creator and host of the news program ...

* Lou Holtz, Emeritus *

Larry Kudlow Lawrence Alan Kudlow (born August 20, 1947) is an American conservative television personality and financial program host for the Fox network who served as the Director of the National Economic Council during the Trump Administration from 2018 ...

Tom Monaghan Thomas Stephen Monaghan (born March 25, 1937) is an American entrepreneur who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983 to 1992. Monaghan also owns the Domino's Farms Office Park, located in the Ann Arbor Charter Town ...

* Melissa Moschella *

Scott Hahn Scott Walker Hahn (born October 28, 1957) is an American Catholic theologian and Christian apologist. A former Presbyterian who converted to Catholicism, Hahn's popular works include ''Rome Sweet Home'' and ''The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heave ...

* Paul R. Roney * Father John Riccardo, Emeritus The board's episcopal advisors are Cardinal

Adam Maida Adam Joseph Maida (born March 18, 1930) is an American cardinal prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Maida served as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan from 1990 to 2009, and was elevated to cardinal in 1994. Maida prev ...

and Archbishop

Allen Vigneron Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands, serving since 2009. Vi ...

. Former Board Members *

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...

, Founding Chairman (1926-2007) *

Michael Novak Michael John Novak Jr. (September 9, 1933 – February 17, 2017) was an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than forty books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known ...

Phyllis Schlafly Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, author, and anti-feminist spokesperson for the national conservative movement. She held paleocons ...

References

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External links

Ave Maria Mutual Funds website

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The Osgood File Charles Osgood Wood III (born January 8, 1933), known professionally as Charles Osgood, is an American radio and television commentator, writer and musician. Osgood is best known for being the host of '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', a role he hel ...

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Kiplingers.com Article

Mutual funds of the United States Catholic lay organisations Ethical investment