BRI vs Sin Stocks, MMM 10-25-2010

BRI vs. the Vice Fund

Monday Morning Message, October 25, 2010

A recent article in Pensions & Investments was titled “Sin stocks hold favor on Wall St.” and it came to me the same week that I received reports from our farming operations in Ukraine.  Follow that with news from Paul Larsen and Jes Tarp about the activities of AgManagement in Mozambique and I found the contrasts of these two announcements quite poignant. 

The “Sin stocks” referred to are part of a mutual fund known as the Vice Fund and offered thru USA Mutual Funds.  This fund reports results that have exceeded market returns for the years since 2002 when the fund was conveniently founded.  I am not sure who is finding favor with this fund but it has attracted a total of 74 million in assets.  If you were are an average Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley Smith Barney advisor and have ten or more year’s experience, you would have at least twice the asset base of this “favored fund”.  Why does a quality publication like Pensions & Investments give space to such a fund as this?  I can only guess because it sounds counter cultural or controversial because the data they use actually shows longer term just the opposite of their premise.  The studies show over longer time periods that funds that invest in tobacco, alcohol, gaming, etc do not outperform the market but in fact under perform.

The AgManagement reports were a stark contrast in emphasis.  In addition to a larger than expected distribution to Ukrainian stakeholders, the company’s presence in the community continues to set a high standard for conduct.  All moneys paid to local and national government entities are all done above the table, and significant employment of Ukrainian locals has increased morale in those villages as well as sobriety levels.  Crop results in one of the most difficult periods for weather were above normal in 2010.  The company has a full time chaplain for both the employees and to plant churches in the villages that are part of the farms. Because of this witness, the farms have grown to 21,000 acres of farmland and whenever new farms become available, AgManagement sees them first.

This same pattern is starting to take place in a new project in Mozambique where AgManagement is teaching their employees how to raise soybeans in areas never thought possible.  People are finding a company with a moral compass to be a great place to work and in this case, we hope that they will see Jesus thru the actions of the corporate leaders.  So rather than selling tobacco and other addictive products that enslave people, it is possible to teach people to grow crops that help others.  I don’t know about you, but I favor avoiding the sin stocks and investing in areas that can bring social, economic, and spiritual gains.  Feel free to visit this website understanding that this is not an endorsement to buy or invest in any specific program but an example worth knowing about. Please watch this video report:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIgJ1PYzEAc   This is an unsolicited report from a local Ukrainian television station about our Alpha farm. 

John 21:15b (RSV) “…He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

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