wfn.org | ABCUSA: MMBB 2000 INVESTMENTS BEAT INDICES

[RICH.SCHRAMM@ecunet.org]

AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWS SERVICE 
Office of Communication  
American Baptist Churches USA 
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851 
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320 
Web: www.abc-usa.org
Richard W. Schramm, Director 
 E-mail: richard.schramm@abc-usa.org

MMBB'S INVESTMENT STRATEGY RESULTS IN 
LESS VOLATILTY IN 2000, COMPARED WITH LEADING MARKET INDICES
 The year 2000 was one of the most volatile periods 
in stock market history.  The swings between the highs 
and lows in the leading market indices were sizable and 
unsettling to investors.  In the midst of that, volatility in 
The Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board's (MMBB) 
investments was moderate, due to the Board's investment 
strategy.
 The percentage difference between the high and 
low in MMBB's Balanced Fund was 8.8% for the year.  
That is compared with 16.4% for the Dow, 17.2% for the 
S&P 500 and a staggering 53.8% for the NASDAQ.
 Factors contributing to the market's volatility 
included lower earnings, the Internet bubble bursting, rate 
hikes by the Federal Reserve Board and the presidential 
election.  Those factors had the effect of putting a halt to 
the growth/technology bull market.
 The allocation of MMBB's Balanced Fund, as 
directed by the Board's Finance Committee, is the key to 
understanding MMBB's investment strategy in 2000.  The 
investment allocation was 40% in domestic stocks, 24% in 
bonds, 16% in international stocks and the remaining 20% 
in alternative assets.  
 In addition to the Balanced Fund, MMBB offers a 
selection of seven Personal Investment Choices (PICs) 
funds in which members may invest a portion of their 
accounts.  
 Moderate volatility didn't keep the Balanced Fund 
from ending the year on the downside, but exposure to the 
Lehman Aggregate Bond Index limited MMBB's negative 
performance to -5.1%.  That is compared with the Dow's  -
6.3% performance, -10.2% for the S&P, -39.3% for the 
NASDAQ and -11.9% for the Wilshire 5000, which is one 
of MMBB's benchmarks.
 And there was good news for MMBB's annuitants.  
Their monthly annuity checks will be 1.5% higher in 2001, 
due to positive investment returns from October 1999 
through September 2000.

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