Investor Education

Latest Articles

General Board Promotes Affordable Rural Housing (December 1, 2011)

The General Board helps alleviate a critical and overlooked housing need—affordable housing in rural areas—through its Positive Social Purpose (PSP) Lending Program.

New Study Further Links Participants Using Professional Help with Improved Performance (October 11, 2011)

A new five-year study by Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines indicates defined contribution plan participants who use help from financial experts improve their returns—particularly during times of financial turmoil.

LifeStage and Target Date Funds: A Comparison (June 30, 2011)

Instead of offering target date funds, the General Board offers the LifeStage Investment Management Service (LifeStage) which is a form of a managed account program designed to provide flexibility in developing optimal solutions for allocating participant account balances among several different types of investments.

Participants Who Utilize Professional Help Reach Better Retirement Outcomes (June 23, 2011)

A recent report showed that participants who utilize the professional assistance offered through their retirement plans benefitted with better performance and lower risk in their portfolios.

Overviews

An Overview of the Federal Reserve System

The Federal Reserve System—commonly called the “Fed”—is often mentioned in news stories concerning the economy and financial issues. But exactly what is the Federal Reserve System? What does it do? Why is it important?

The General Board Invests in Communities at Home and Abroad

The United Methodist Church (UMC) strives to support individuals in communities around the world. For the last 20 years, General Board’s Positive Social Purpose (PSP) Lending program has promoted affordable housing, community development and expanded loan opportunities in underserved communities in the United States.

The Role of the Investments Department

The Investments department’s role is to seek to attain superior returns while incurring prudent levels of risk for General Board managed funds.

Funds

Considering a Target-Date Fund? Read the Fine Print

Target-date funds help investors match their investment strategy to their expected retirement date. But before investing in one of these funds make sure you know how much the fees are and whether the fund manages to retirement or through your retirement date.

Daily Fund Pricing: Understanding the Basics

Unit price, expense ratio...trying to understand your investments may seem like learning an entirely new language. But don't fret; it's not as complicated as it seems once you understand a few basics.

Special Feature Article on The Inflation Protection Fund

The Inflation Protection Fund (IPF) provides diversification compared to other assets and funds held by the Board.

Investing

Benchmarks—Useful Tools to Gauge Investment Performance

When you receive an investment account statement, it shows the performance of the funds in which your assets are invested. Your statement also shows the performance of each fund’s benchmark. This article discusses the importance of benchmarks and provides information about the benchmarks used by the General Board.

The Benefits of Compound Returns

Compounding refers to generating earnings from previous earnings. Over time, the growth of your investment can accelerate because of the earnings. The effect of compounding earnings over long periods dwarfs additional contributions; thus, small differences in the rate of growth matter significantly.

Bond Basics

Bonds differ significantly from stocks. Learn the basics of bond investment in this primer.

Choosing the Road Less Traveled Can Be a Smart Investing Strategy

The September 29, 2010 issue of The Wall Street Journal featured an article entitled “You Should Have Timed the Market” by Brett Arends. The article discusses a recent study conducted by TrimTabs Investment Research that found investors collectively lost approximately $39 billion over the past decade. Why? Investors yielded to the “herd mentality.” They traveled down the road of investing additional capital in equity mutual funds at the highs and subsequently selling in panic at the lows.

Diversification—a Tried-and-True Investment Strategy

This time-tested investment strategy involves spreading your account balance(s) among different types of inv

The Impact of Changing Interest Rates on the Stable Value Fund Crediting Rate

The General Board summarizes how changing interest rates affect the Stable Value Fund crediting rate with a helpful Q and A.

Investing in Volatile Markets

Now more than ever it pays to diversify your assets among the broad asset categories, which consist of stocks, international stocks and fixed-income investments.

Mutual Fund Fees and Expenses Can Really Add Up

It is well worth learning all you can about mutual funds—or any other investment vehicles—before entrusting your hard-earned retirement savings to them. Before investing in mutual funds, it is especially important to read the “fine print” describing the funds’ sales charges and expense ratios, which can have a dramatic impact on investment returns.

Past Performance Is No Predictor of Future Results

“Historical investment performance” is a typical sales pitch used in marketing campaigns for mutual funds. However, as research shows, past performance is no predictor of future results.

Rebalance Your Investments to Keep Them on the Right Track

If you make your own investment decisions, you probably know how important it is to choose the most appropriate asset allocation, or investment mix. However, it is equally important to periodically review your portfolio and rebalance it, if necessary, to preserve your intended asset allocation.

Should You Make Investment Decisions Based on Performance History?

One can rarely, if ever, statistically prove that the performance history of a fund is a predictor of future performance. So, when making a decision on how to invest your savings, you should not focus solely on the investment"s recent performance record.

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) – An Important Component of a Diversified Investment Portfolio

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) are a type of security issued by the U.S. Government. The General Board uses TIPS in its investment funds to provide participants with a diversified suite of investments and to manage the risk of unexpected inflation. This article explains the features of TIPS and illustrates how they are an important element of a diversified investment portfolio.

What Are Alternative Investments?

An alternative investment is an investment that does not fit into one of the two traditional categories of publicly traded assets—stocks and bonds. The General Board regularly evaluates and, in some cases, invests in alternative assets for its various daily priced funds.

What Is a Stable Value Fund?

Stable value funds are designed to preserve capital. As a result, they are a popular fund option for investors with low risk tolerance. Learn more about this kind of fund.