Chad Horning, chief investment officer for the MMA Praxis Mutual Funds, is the manager of the MMA Praxis Growth Index Fund and MMA Praxis Value Index Fund.
Christopher C. Davis and Kenneth C. Feinberg of Davis Advisors have been the co-managers of the MMA Praxis Core Stock Fund since January, 2006.
J. Luther King and Steven R. Purvis of Luther King Capital Management Corp. have been the co-managers of the MMA Praxis Small Cap Fund since its inception in May of 2007.
Francis Claró of Evergreen Capital Management has managed the MMA Praxis International Fund since 2007.
The MMA Praxis Funds trace their roots to 1945 when members of what today is the Mennonite Church USA formed the Mennonite Mutual Aid, a paternal benefits society to provide health and life insurance to its members. To help finance the insurance, premiums paid by members were invested.
“In the early 1990s we began talking about how we’re doing this investment work around our faith screens,” says Steve Bowers, marketing manager for MMA Praxis. “We thought maybe we should make that available to all our people. So that was the genesis of the idea of building a mutual fund family.”
The first funds were opened in 1995 and today MMA Praxis offers a core stock fund, as well as international, value index, growth index, small cap and bond funds. Managers apply “stewardship investing,” a philosophy based on the balancing of social and financial considerations developed through faith convictions. Six principals include:
- Respecting the dignity and value of all people
- Building a world at peace and free from violence
- Demonstrating a concern for global justice
- Exhibiting responsible management practices
- Supporting and involving communities
- Practicing environmental stewardship
Specifically, managers screen for military contractors, firearms not used for sport, tobacco, alcohol and gambling.