WELS INVESTMENT FUNDS
INVESTMENT INFORMATION
Download the annual report, the most recent audited financials, and the investment policy statement.
Our Mission
As an affiliate of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, WELS Investment Funds provides cost-effective, professionally managed investment portfolios exclusively for WELS and affiliated organizations. WELS Funds are designed primarily for the investment needs of endowment funds and scholarship funds that strengthen and enhance our ministry as a whole.
About WELS Investment Funds
About
The mission of WELS Investment Funds is to strengthen and enhance the ministry of WELS and WELS-affiliated organizations by providing professionally managed investment portfolios.
Board of directors
WELS Investment Funds is governed by an independent board whose directors are members of WELS congregations and elected by the Synodical Council.
Officers & staff
The day-to-day affairs are carried out by its officers and other WELS employees. For administrative convenience, efficiency, and cost effectiveness purposes, WELS Investment Funds leases its personnel from WELS. WELS also provides services relating to the processing of transactions, preparing investor account statements, and the preparation of corporate financial statements.
Investment advisors
WELS Investment Funds has retained Mercer as its primary investment advisor. Mercer assists the board in implementing WELS Investment Funds’ investment policies.
WELS Investment Funds focuses on three primary factors when managing investment portfolios: 1) controlling market risk through asset allocation and diversification, 2) selection of quality investment managers, and 3) controlling direct and indirect costs.
Contact
A representative of WELS Investment Funds is available to answer your questions. To request a copy of the WELS Investment Funds annual report, ask a question, or schedule a meeting for your organization, please call Executive Director Jim Holm, CFP®, or Investor and Donor Services Specialist Kathleen Everson at 877-888-8953.
FAQs
What are the benefits of investing through WELS Investment Funds?
- WELS Investment Funds was incorporated as a support services subsidiary of WELS in 1997. As of August 31, 2024, it managed approximately $330 million for 255 WELS and affiliated ministries, including WELS Foundation, Martin Luther College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Luther Preparatory School, Michigan Lutheran Seminary, WELS Home and World Missions, several area Lutheran high schools, and more than 200 congregations.
- WELS Investment Funds provides cost-effective, professionally managed investment portfolios exclusively for WELS and affiliated ministries. By pooling our God-given talents and resources, we can take advantage of lower-cost, institutionally priced investment opportunities that are not available to smaller investment accounts. As more congregations and organizations invest in WELS Investment Funds, the cost-reduction benefits increase. It’s a way we can support each other.
- WELS Investment Funds is easy to use. Executive Director Jim Holm, an employee of WELS, can meet with your organization (in person or via phone or video) to discuss the various investment options available through WELS. Our Investor Services Specialist Kathleen Everson is also available to guide you through the steps to open and maintain an investment account.
Who can invest in the WELS Funds?
Any 501(c)(3) organization that is a WELS or Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) ministry or a ministry in fellowship with WELS can invest in WELS Funds. This includes any ministry listed in the WELS Yearbook or otherwise approved by the WELS Conference of Presidents.
Individuals may not invest in WELS Funds, nor can organizations in the following states: Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, or Virginia.
How are the funds managed?
The WELS Investment Funds Board of Directors has retained Mercer as its investment consultant. As a co-fiduciary, the investment consultant assists the board in implementing investment policies by focusing on three primary factors: risk through asset allocation and diversification, selection of quality investment managers, and investment-related costs.
What are the investment options?
The WELS Balanced Fund seeks to reduce potential volatility by including fixed income securities. It is composed of 60 percent equity and 40 percent fixed income and has a mid- to long-range investment time horizon.
The WELS Endowment Fund seeks to maximize the long-term growth of principal and is designed primarily for endowment funds. It is composed of 75 percent equity and 25 percent fixed income and has a long-range investment time horizon.
The WELS Equity Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing in a portfolio of equity securities that is well diversified by industry and company size. It is composed of 100 percent equities and has a long-range investment time horizon.
The WELS Income Fund seeks to provide income by investing primarily in investment-quality debt securities. It is composed of 100 percent fixed income securities and has a short- to mid-range investment time horizon.
The WELS Balanced Fund and WELS Endowment Fund invest in differing ratios of the same underlying mutual funds as the WELS Equity Fund and WELS Income Fund. The WELS Equity Fund and WELS Income Fund are for those ministries who desire an asset allocation other than the WELS Balanced Fund and WELS Endowment Fund.
What are the fees and expenses?
All direct expenses and any expenses allocated by WELS related to the operation of WELS Investment Funds (e.g., rent for office space; utilities; and financial, technological, and human resources expenses) are charged directly to the WELS Funds. While these expenses vary from year to year, for fiscal year 2025, they are anticipated to be 0.16% of the assets in the WELS Funds.
All mutual funds that comprise the WELS Funds have investment expenses significantly below the industry average. The weighted average expense ratios are as follows:
- WELS Balanced Fund: 0.14%
- WELS Endowment Fund: 0.16%
- WELS Equity Fund: 0.19%
- WELS Income Fund: 0.07%
How frequently are WELS Funds’ additions or redemptions processed?
WELS Funds’ transactions are processed on the first business day of each month. Additions and/or redemption requests must be received by WELS Investment Funds at least one business day prior to month-end for processing. Funds received prior to month-end will be held in a non-interest-bearing cash account until processed. Redemption proceeds will be deposited in the organization’s bank account via direct deposit typically within the first ten business days of the month.
How do you open an account?
A New Accounts Form and an Authorized Signer Form must be completed to establish a new account. All investments made pursuant to the New Accounts Form will be held in the name of WELS Investment Funds (or such other entity selected by WELS Investment Funds) as nominee for the organization, with actual ownership of the investments remaining in the organization. Each organization investing in the WELS Funds will be assigned an interest (an “Ownership Interest”) in the assets of each chosen WELS Fund reflecting the pro rata interest of the organization in the assets of the particular WELS Fund. The value of the organization’s Ownership Interest may fluctuate as the value of the particular WELS Fund fluctuates.
Most recent investment policy statement
New or existing account forms
Contact us
What is the minimum investment to open an account?
The minimum to open an account is $10,000.
Investment Cost Calculator
WELS Investment Funds online access
Monthly market values and transaction activity are available online. For login instructions, please contact Kathleen Everson at [email protected].
Latest WELS Investment Funds Quarterly Update Video
Change in institutional investment consultant
On March 15, 2024, our institutional investment consultant changed from Vanguard Institutional Advisory Services® (VIAS) to Mercer. Mercer, a global leader in institutional investing, has acquired Vanguard’s outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) business, which provides investment management services for not-for-profit organizations.
Our former Vanguard senior investment consultants, Bill Burns and Helen Zhang, have transitioned to Mercer and will continue to manage the WELS Funds with oversight by the WELS Investment Funds board of directors.
Nothing will change for our investors through this transition, and no action is needed on the part of investors. Everything in terms of processing investments will remain the same. Our WELS Investment Funds staff will continue to provide our investors with responsive, personalized service.
Questions? Please contact Executive Director Jim Holm at 414-256-3206 or [email protected] with any questions you may have about this transition.
WELS Investment Funds: A Strong Partner in Ministry
WELS Investment Funds: Here to Serve You
WELS Church Extension Fund
WELS Church Extension Fund exists to provide loans and grants to qualified ministry congregations so they can acquire land, build or renovate ministry facilities—used as tools for gospel outreach.
WELS Foundation
WELS Foundation exists to assist God’s people in support of God’s ministry through the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
WELS Investment Funds
As an affiliate of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, WELS Investment Funds provides cost-effective, professionally managed investment portfolios exclusively for WELS and affiliated organizations.