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Fund Overview: Objective, Strategy and Holdings

  • The International Equity Fund-I Series seeks to earn long-term capital appreciation primarily from a broadly diversified portfolio of foreign equities.
  • The Fund holds real estate investment trusts (REITs) and interests in private real estate and private equity partnerships located in foreign countries.

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
Hoa Quach

Hoa Quach, CFA

Director, Public Markets

  • With Wespath since 2024
  • BBA from University of Notre Dame
  • MBA from University of Chicago
Virgilio Calahong, CAIA

Virgilio Calahong, CAIA​

Manager, Public Equities​

  • With Wespath since 2024​
  • B.A. from University of Michigan
Amy Bulger Image

Amy Bulger

Director, Private Markets

  • With Wespath since 2013
  • B.S. from Northern Illinois University
  • MBA from Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University

Management

The Fund invests with strategies that include developed markets, emerging markets and international small-cap. The approach primarily uses active management to invest fund assets among different countries and/or regions of the world. The Fund's managers seek to invest in attractively valued companies that represent long-term above-average investment opportunities.

External Asset Managers

* Signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment

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

Performance

Fund1,2 Performance, Net-of-Fees (as of 09/30/2024)

  3 mo YTD 1 yr 3 yr 5 yr 10 yr
International Equity Fund-I Series 8.58% 11.33% 22.19% -0.53% 6.57% -
IEF-I Benchmark3 8.18% 13.90% 25.06% 3.74% 7.66% -

Composite1,4 Performance, Net-of-Fees (as of 09/30/2024)

  3 mo YTD 1 yr 3 yr 5 yr 10 yr
International Equity (IEF) Composite 8.12% 10.86% 20.86% -0.64% 6.30% 5.20%
IEF Composite Benchmark3 8.18% 13.90% 25.06% 3.74% 7.66% 5.33%

Universe Comparison

International Equity Composite4 vs. Peer Group Universe

Peer Group Performance Comparison

Peer group performance comparison

Annualized Performance (Gross-of-Fees)

  1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
International Equity Composite 6.2% -3.8% 5.0% 4.4%
Median 11.4% 0.9% 6.6% 5.0%
Rank (%) in Universe 96th 96th 84th 71st
# of Observations 203 182 172 142

Peer Group Performance Comparison and Annualized Performance (Gross-of-Fees) data as of December 31, 2023.

Source: BNY Mellon. The adjacent chart represents the range of investment returns for the BNY Mellon Master Trust Universe (Universe) for international equity manager asset pools. BNY Mellon provides a fund-level tracking service used to compare the International Equity Composite’s actual, gross-of-fees performance to the performance of similar asset pools of other institutional investors. The Universe includes corporate, foundation, endowment, public, Taft-Hartley and health care plans.


Footnotes

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].

1 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. Investment performance is presented net-of-fees. See Risks and Disclosures for more information regarding fees, including how fees are reflected in performance. The investments of the funds and composites may vary substantially from those in the applicable benchmark. The benchmarks are based on broad-based securities market indices, which are unmanaged, cannot be invested in and are not subject to fees and expenses typically associated with investment funds. Investments cannot be made directly in an index. This chart was produced using data from sources believed to be accurate. The bar chart and table assume reinvestment of distributions.

2 Please refer to the Investment Funds Description - I Series for more information about each Fund. This information is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase securities. The investment funds are neither insured nor guaranteed by the government.

3 Benchmark descriptions can be found here.

4 The performance presented reflects the historical performance record of the composite employed by: (a) Wespath Institutional Investments (WII) through funds called the I Series funds available as of January 1, 2019; and (2) UMC Benefit Board, Inc.an affiliated entity, through funds called the P Series funds and available to certain Institutional Investors (as defined below) prior to January 1, 2019. The composite includes the applicable P Series fund before January 1, 2019. After January 1, 2019 the composite includes both the applicable P Series fund and I Series fund (asset-weighted). The composite for the applicable P Series fund and I Series fund have substantially similar investment objectives and investment strategies and are referred to collectively as “the Composite.” The P Series funds are not available to Institutional Investors other than in exceptional circumstances agreed to by the P Series funds adviser.

Historical returns are not indicative of future performance. Returns presented are time‐weighted returns. Net returns are presented net of actual fees and expenses, including transaction costs, custody fees, sub‐advisory fees, and administrative/overhead expenses and are net of withholding taxes. The portfolios in the Composite do not pay any investment management fees to Wespath. Administrative/overhead expenses are paid by the portfolios in the Composite to Wespath.

Units of the I Series funds are available to organizations related to the Church and organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, benevolent, fraternal, charitable, or reformatory purpose: (1) no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual; or (2) which is or maintains certain pooled income funds, collective trust funds, collective investment vehicles or similar funds for the collective investment and reinvestment of assets of certain designated vehicles available for charitable investments. All such organizations shall qualify as permissible investors in a fund excepted from the definition of “investment company” contained in Section 3(c) (10) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (and are referred to as “Institutional Investors”). Certain, but not all, Institutional Investors were eligible to invest in the P Series prior to January 1, 2019.

Allocations

Holdings-Based Regional Allocations as of September 30, 2024
Region IEF-I Actual
(%) 
IEF-I Benchmark (%) Difference
(%)
Europe (ex-United Kingdom) 28.8% 30.2% -1.4%
Emerging Markets 23.1% 28.6% -5.5%
Japan 10.1% 15.2% -5.1%
United Kingdom 9.0% 9.3% -0.3%
Pacific (ex-Japan) 6.7% 8.2% -1.5%
North America 12.4% 7.7% 4.7%
Africa/Mideast 0.5% 0.6% -0.1%
Frontier 2.0% 0.2% +1.8%
Cash (equitized) 2.3% 0.0% +2.3%
Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Alts 5.1% 0.0% +5.1%
 
Holdings-Based Sector/Industry Allocations as of September 30, 2024
Sector/Industry IEF-I Actual
(%)
IEF-I Benchmark
(%)
Difference
(%)
Communication. Services 4.1% 5.3% -1.2%
Consumer Discretionary 11.5% 11.4% +0.1%
Consumer Staples 4.9% 7.2% -2.3%
Energy 3.3% 4.8% -1.5%
Financials 15.4% 21.0% -5.6%
Health Care 7.5% 9.0% -1.5%
Industrials 18.1% 14.9% +3.2%
Information Technology 13.2% 12.5% +0.7%
Materials 6.4% 7.7% -1.3%
Real Estate 1.4% 3.0% -1.6%
Utilities 3.0% 3.2% -0.2%
Alternatives 5.1% 0.0% +5.1%
Cash 2.2% 0.0% +2.2%
Unassigned 3.9% 0.0% +3.9%
 
Holdings-Based Style Allocations as of September 30, 2024
Style IEF-I Actual
(%)
IEF-I Benchmark
(%)
Difference
(%)
Large Cap Core 7.3% 8.8% -1.5%
Large Cap Growth 29.0% 30.6% -1.6%
Large Cap Value 20.3% 28.9% -8.6%
Mid Cap Core 4.6% 2.6% +2.0%
Mid Cap Growth 8.8% 7.2% +1.6%
Mid Cap Value 9.0% 7.8% +1.2%
Small Cap Core 2.5% 2.2% +0.3%
Small Cap Growth 5.4% 6.0% -0.6%
Small Cap Value 5.7% 5.9% -0.2%
Alternatives 5.1% 0.0% +5.1%
Cash 2.2% 0.0% +2.2%
Unassigned 0.1% 0.0% +0.1%


Future asset allocations may be different than those stated above.

 

 

Characteristics

Fund Characteristics as of September 30, 2024
  IEF-I3 IEF-I Benchmark
Wgt. Mkt. Cap ($MM) $98,953 $96,399
Price/Earnings1 18.72 13.05
Price to Book2 2.73 1.82
Dividend Yield4 2.36% 2.79%
Holdings IEF-I Holdings  

 

1 Price/Earnings is the weighted harmonic average of the price of the underlying securities as of the reported date, divided by the earnings per share of the trailing/last 12 months of the underlying securities (excluding companies with negative earnings).

2 Price to Book is the weighted harmonic average price of the underlying securities divided by the book value of the securities as of the reported date (excluding companies with negative cash flows).

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

4 Does not reflect the deduction of fees.


Top 10 Stock Holdings as of September 30, 2024
Company Country Fund% % of IEF Benchmark
TSMC Taiwan 2.46% 2.29%
Tencent Holdings Limited China 1.55% 1.15%
ASML Holding NV Netherlands 1.20% 1.02%
AIA Group Limited Hong Kong 1.09% 0.31%
Spotify Technology SA Sweden 0.96% 0.00%
TotalEnergies SE France 0.89% 0.43%
Alibaba Group Holding Limited China 0.83% 0.66%
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. South Korea 0.82% 0.69%
Ferrari NV Italy 0.77% 0.18%
MercadoLibre, Inc. Argentina 0.76% 0.00%

Fund Risk Characteristics as of September 30, 2024
  IEF-I IEF-I Benchmark
Beta 1.06 1.00
R-Squared 0.98 1.00

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. IEF-I 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.

Historical returns are not indicative of future performance. For further discussion of the Fund’s investments strategies and risks, please refer to "Principal Investment Strategies — International Equities Fund-I Series" in the Investment Funds Description – I 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.

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.

Valuation of IEF-I Units

In the daily valuation of IEF-I Series Units, Wespath uses a valuation methodology to capture changes in non-U.S. securities values that arise because of time-zone differences among global securities markets. Many non U.S. securities trade on exchanges that close several hours before IEF-I’s closing unit price is calculated in the United States, generally at 4 p.m. Eastern time. In the hours between the close of the non U.S. markets and the close of the U.S. market, the value of the non U.S. securities may change due to a variety of factors including, for example, company-specific announcements or market-wide developments. IEF-I’s daily return may diverge from the daily return of its benchmark index, in part, because the benchmark index values do not reflect such price adjustments.


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 Institutional Investments.

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. 2023 Expense Ratios reflect a recent change to the fee calculation methodology. The methodology for calculating the funds’ Administrative and Overhead Expenses—one component of overall Expense Ratios—was changed (effective July 1, 2023) to better align with the level of resources required by WII and the overall Wespath organization to administer each I Series fund. This methodology is applicable for the entire year beginning January 1, 2024.

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 – I Series.