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Fund Overview: Objective, Strategy and Holdings

This fund is only available to plan sponsors and other institutional investors approved by Wespath under exceptional circumstances.

The U.S. Equity Index Fund (USEIF) shall invest in a portfolio of common stocks as represented by the Russell 3000® index.

The Fund generally does not invest in companies that derive more than 10% of their revenue from gambling or from the manufacture, sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages, tobacco-related products, adult entertainment, weapons, or the management or operation of prison facilities.

Fund Managers

The following individuals are responsible for the selection and monitoring of external asset managers:

Frank Holsteen Image

Frank Holsteen

Managing Director, Investment Management

  • With Wespath since 2012
  • B.A. from Lake Forest College
Mark Warren Image

Mark Warren, CFA, CIMA

Manager, Public Equities

  • With Wespath since 2015
  • B.S. from Purdue University
  • CFA Charterholder
  • CIMA Certification

Management

Blackrock is the primary sub-adviser of USEIF. The Fund employs a passive investment strategy. The performance Benchmark for USEIF is the Russell 3000® index.

Asset Managers

* Signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment

 

Please refer to the Investment Funds Description – P Series for a detailed description of the investment strategies used in managing the Fund.

Fund Snapshot
Inception December 31, 2014
Exp. Ratio 0.28% for 2022
Benchmark Russell 3000™ Index
Fund Assets $65 Million as of July 31, 2023
Holdings June 30, 2023 - PDF and August 31, 2023 - Excel
Unit Price History Wespath Funds Price History
For More Information Investment Funds Description – P Series

Performance, net of fees (as of 09/30/2023)

  3 mo YTD 1 yr 3 yr 5 yr 10 yr
U.S. Equity Index Fund -3.22% 12.55% 20.40% 9.34% 9.18% -
USEIF Benchmark -3.25% 12.39% 20.46% 9.38% 9.14% -

See Risk and Disclosures for more information regarding Net of Fees Performance.

USEIF Benchmark

The U.S. Equity Index Fund performance benchmark is the Russell 3000 Index. The index measures the investment performance of the 3,000 largest (based on total market value) U.S. companies, representing approximately 98% of the publicly traded companies available for investment in the U.S. equity market.


Wespath Benefits and Investments (“Wespath”) is a general agency of The United Methodist Church, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Wespath administers benefit plans and together with its subsidiaries, UMC Benefit Board, Inc. (“UMCBB”) and Wespath Institutional Investments, LLC (“WII”) invests (or provides back-office services for) assets on behalf of benefit plan participants and beneficiaries, plan sponsors and other institutions controlled by, affiliated with or related to The United Methodist Church (the “Church”). For GIPS compliance purposes, the Firm referenced herein is defined to include Wespath, UMCBB and WII (“Firm”).

Wespath claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). GIPS is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein. To obtain a copy of Wespath’s GIPS Report, please call us at 1-847-866-4100 or e-mail us at [email protected].

Allocations

Holdings-Based Style Allocations as of June 30, 2023

Style USEIF Actual (%) USEIF Benchmark (%) Difference (%)
U.S. Equity Securities      
      Mega Cap 44.9% 47.8% -2.9%
      Large Cap Core 9.3% 8.0% 1.3%
      Large Cap Growth 4.7% 4.9% -0.2%
      Large Cap Value 9.8% 10.7% -0.9%
      Mid Cap Core 8.9% 6.9% +2.0%
      Mid Cap Growth 4.5% 3.8% +0.7%
      Mid Cap Value 11.3% 12.4% -1.1%
      Small Cap Core 1.3% 1.5% -0.2%
      Small Cap Growth 2.2% 2.0% +0.2%
      Small Cap Value 2.0% 2.0% 0.0%
    Cash 1.1% 0.0% +1.1%

 

Characteristics

Characteristics as of June 30, 2023

  USEIF1 USEIF Benchmark
Wgt. Mkt. Cap ($MM) $586,983 $589,090
Price/Earnings 21.90 21.92
Price to Book 3.88 3.92
Dividend Yield2 1.50% 1.49%
Holdings USEIF Holdings  

1Reflects the portion of the fund portfolio that is invested in public equities and REITs.

2 Does not reflect the deduction of fees.


Risk Characteristics as of June 30, 2023

Statistics (trailing 5 years) USEIF USEIF Benchmark
Beta 1.00 1.00
R-Squared 1.00 1.00


Top 10 Stock Holdings as of June 30, 2023

Company % of Portfolio
Apple Inc. 6.65%
Microsoft Corporation 5.82%
Alphabet Inc. 3.10%
Amazon.com, Inc. 2.73%
NVIDIA Corporation 2.33%
Tesla, Inc. 1.68%
Meta Platforms Inc. Class A 1.47%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 1.45%
UnitedHealth Group Inc. 1.04%
Exxon Mobil Corporation 1.01%

 


Sector Weightings as of June 30, 2023

 

  USEIF-P USEIF-P Benchmark
Communication Services 7.8% 7.8%
Consumer Discretionary 10.8% 10.9%
Consumer Staples 5.8% 6.1%
Energy 4.2% 4.1%
Financials 13.2% 13.0%
Health Care 13.5% 13.5%
Industrials 9.2% 9.9%
Information Technology 26.6% 26.4%
Materials 2.7% 2.8%
Real Estate 3.1% 3.0%
Utliities 2.6% 2.5%
Cash 0.1% 0.0%
Unassigned 0.4% 0.0%

Risks & Disclosures

All investments carry some degree of risk that will affect the value of the Fund’s holdings, its investment performance and the price of its units. As a result, loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. USEIF is subject to the following principal investment risks: market risk, investment style risk, security-specific risk, country risk, currency risk, derivatives risk and liquidity risk.

The performance shown is for the stated time period only and computed in U.S. Dollars (USD). Historical returns are not indicative of future performance. For further discussion of the Fund’s investments strategies and risks, please refer to the Investment Funds Description – P Series. This is not an offer to purchase securities.

Lending of Portfolio Securities

The Fund seeks to earn additional income by lending a portion of its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. The loans are secured at all times by cash and liquid high-grade debt obligations. As with any extension of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery and in some cases even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. In addition, losses could result from the reinvestment of the cash collateral received on loaned securities.

Expense Ratio

The expense ratio is a measure of the annual fund operating expenses paid by the Fund expressed as a percentage of the average fair value of the Fund’s assets for the applicable year. The annual fund operating expenses consist of fees paid to subadvisor(s), and the Fund’s pro rata portion of custody fees and administrative and overhead expenses incurred by the overall Wespath Benefits and Investments organization in connection with providing investment, operating and administrative support to the Fund and the other funds available through Wespath Benefits and Investments, and for non-Fund related activities and operations.

The expense ratio shown on the Fund Overview page is based on the prior year’s data and fee calculation methodology. The fee calculation methodology was changed effective July 1, 2023. The Fund’s actual annual fund operating expenses and the related expense ratio can differ from year to year. Actual annual fund operating expenses may vary depending on, among other things, market events, Fund size, transaction costs, timing of Fund inflows and outflows, and applicable internal costs and third-party fees.

The Fund may also pay transaction costs, performance fees, interest expenses, taxes and fees on uninvested cash held in sweep accounts, which are in addition to the annual fund operating expenses. The annual fund operating expenses and these additional expenses are reflected in the Fund’s unit price and reduce the Fund’s rate of return. For further information about the Fund’s fees and expenses, including the fee calculation methodology change, please refer to the Investment Funds Description – P Series.