Ave Maria Mutual Funds is a U.S.
mutual fund
A mutual fund is an investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase Security (finance), securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV in ...
family that targets clients interested in financially sound investments in companies that do not violate certain religious principles of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Often described as
socially responsible investing
Socially responsible investing (SRI) is any investment strategy which seeks to consider financial return alongside ethical, social or environmental goals. The areas of concern recognized by SRI practitioners are often linked to environmental, ...
(SRI), this practice may also be called morally responsible investing (MRI) or
faith-based investing
Socially responsible investing (SRI) is any investment strategy which seeks to consider financial return alongside ethical, social or environmental goals. The areas of concern recognized by SRI practitioners are often linked to environmental, ...
. Ave Maria is the largest Catholic-oriented investing firm in the United States.
[Davis, M. K., Ghoul, W. A., & Thies, C. F. (2017). The Performance of Faith-based Mutual Funds: A Matched-Pair Approach. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 19(7). Retrieved from https://articlearchives.co/index.php/JABE/article/view/660]
History
The first of its funds was established in 2001. As of March 31, 2025, the Ave Maria Mutual Funds had $3.5 billion in
assets under management
In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...
.
The largest funds by
assets under management
In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...
are Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund (Ticker: AVEDX), the firm's flagship fund; Ave Maria Growth Fund (AVEGX) and Ave Maria Value Fund (AVEMX). Other funds include Ave Maria Bond Fund (AVEFX), Ave Maria World Equity Fund (AVEWX), Ave Maria Growth Focused Fund (AVEAX) and Ave Maria Value Focused Fund (AVERX). The Catholic Equity Fund merged into Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund on March 30, 2007.
The seven Ave Maria Mutual Funds are managed by Plymouth, Michigan-based Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. The firm was established in 1980 by George P. Schwartz, CFA. There is also an Ave Maria Money Market Account, a
money market fund
A money market fund (also called a money market mutual fund) is an open-end mutual fund that invests in short-term debt securities such as US Treasury bills and commercial paper. Money market funds are managed with the goal of maintaining a hig ...
managed by Pittsburgh, PA based
Federated Investors
Federated Hermes is an investment manager headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1955 and incorporated on October 18, 1957, the company manages $829.6 billion of customer assets, as of December 2024. The company off ...
. Schwartz also began offering an Ave Maria Separately Managed Account (Ave Maria SMA) product in late 2009.
Investment strategy
According to the fund family
prospectus and website, the company screens its investments first on financial criteria. They have a preference for