Ave Maria Mutual Funds occupies a distinctive niche in the faith-based investing landscape: it is the largest and most established investment family designed specifically for Catholic investors. While most biblically responsible investing (BRI) providers screen from a broadly evangelical Protestant perspective, Ave Maria applies screening criteria rooted in the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, guided by a prominent Catholic Advisory Board. With approximately $3.8 billion in assets under management across seven mutual funds, Ave Maria has demonstrated that Catholic moral screening and competitive investment performance can coexist—a proposition that the fund family’s impressive long-term track record strongly supports.
Company History and Founding
Ave Maria Mutual Funds is managed by Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc., a registered investment advisory firm founded in 1980 by George P. Schwartz, CFA. The fund family itself was launched in 2001, growing from a partnership between Schwartz and Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza and a prominent Catholic philanthropist. Monaghan’s vision was to create investment products that would allow faithful Catholics to grow their wealth without compromising the moral teachings of their Church.
The collaboration between Schwartz’s investment expertise and Monaghan’s Catholic philanthropic vision produced a fund family that takes both financial performance and moral screening seriously. Based in Schwartz Investment Counsel’s offices in Michigan, Ave Maria has grown from a single fund in 2001 to seven funds covering domestic equity (growth, value, and dividend strategies), international equity, fixed income, and concentrated equity approaches.
A key structural element is the Catholic Advisory Board, which provides guidance on the moral screening criteria applied to all Ave Maria funds. The board has included prominent Catholic figures across media, politics, and academia. Recent members include Raymond Arroyo, the EWTN news anchor and bestselling author; Michael Knowles, the conservative commentator and Catholic convert; and Larry Kudlow, the economist and former Director of the National Economic Council. The board’s role is to advise on the application of Catholic moral principles to investment screening—ensuring that the fund family’s approach reflects authentic Catholic teaching rather than a generic or watered-down interpretation.
Catholic Moral Screening Criteria
Ave Maria’s screening methodology is grounded in the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, particularly as articulated in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines. The screening focuses on four core areas that represent the most clear-cut applications of Catholic moral teaching to corporate behavior.
The first and most prominent screen addresses abortion. Ave Maria excludes companies that perform abortions, manufacture abortifacient drugs or devices, or provide direct financial support to abortion providers. This screen extends beyond healthcare companies to encompass any corporation whose charitable giving, employee benefits, or business operations materially support the abortion industry. Given the Catholic Church’s unequivocal teaching that abortion is a grave moral evil, this screen represents the most foundational element of Ave Maria’s approach.
The second screen covers embryonic stem cell research. Companies that conduct, fund, or materially support research involving the destruction of human embryos are excluded. This reflects the Catholic Church’s teaching that human life begins at conception and that embryonic stem cell research, which requires the destruction of human embryos, is morally impermissible regardless of its potential scientific benefits.
The third screen addresses corporate support for Planned Parenthood. Companies that provide significant financial contributions to Planned Parenthood—the nation’s largest abortion provider—are excluded, even if their own business operations are unrelated to reproductive healthcare. This screen recognizes that corporate philanthropy directed toward Planned Parenthood functionally subsidizes abortion services.
The fourth screen covers pornography. Companies that produce, distribute, or derive significant revenue from pornographic content are excluded, consistent with Catholic moral teaching on the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human sexuality.
Notably, Ave Maria’s screening is more focused than some evangelical BRI providers. The fund family does not screen for alcohol, tobacco, or gambling—industries that the Catholic moral tradition treats with more nuance than many Protestant traditions. Catholic teaching holds that moderate alcohol consumption is morally permissible (wine is central to the Eucharist), tobacco use is a matter of prudential judgment rather than intrinsic evil, and gambling is not inherently sinful when practiced in moderation without harm to dependents. This theological distinction means that Ave Maria portfolios may include companies that evangelical BRI providers like Timothy Plan or Inspire would exclude.
The practical effect of this more focused screening approach is that Ave Maria’s investable universe is larger than that of providers with broader exclusion lists. A larger investable universe generally means less deviation from conventional benchmarks, more diversification options, and potentially less performance drag from screening—factors that have contributed to Ave Maria’s strong long-term track record.
Complete Fund Lineup
Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund (AVEDX). This is Ave Maria’s flagship fund and the cornerstone of the fund family’s reputation for competitive performance. The Rising Dividend Fund invests in companies with strong records of increasing dividend payments, applying Catholic screening alongside fundamental analysis focused on dividend sustainability and growth. With significant assets under management, the fund has consistently demonstrated that values-based investing need not sacrifice returns. The fund exemplifies Schwartz Investment Counsel’s value-oriented investment philosophy, targeting companies with strong balance sheets, competitive advantages, and management teams committed to returning capital to shareholders through growing dividends.
Ave Maria Growth Fund (AVEGX). The Growth Fund targets companies with above-average earnings growth potential that pass Catholic moral screening. With an expense ratio of approximately 0.91%, it is one of the most competitively priced actively managed faith-based equity funds available—significantly less expensive than comparable offerings from Eventide (1.38%) or Timothy Plan (1.48%). The fund demonstrates that faith-based investing need not carry a prohibitive fee premium.
Ave Maria Value Fund (AVEMX). Following the classic value investing approach of seeking undervalued companies with strong fundamentals, the Value Fund applies Catholic screening to a universe of companies trading below their intrinsic worth. This fund appeals to investors who believe in the long-term outperformance potential of value investing and want that strategy delivered through a Catholic moral lens.
Ave Maria World Equity Fund (AVEWX). For investors seeking international diversification with Catholic screening, the World Equity Fund provides global equity exposure including both U.S. and non-U.S. companies. International Catholic screening presents unique challenges—different markets have different regulatory environments and corporate disclosure standards—but the fund provides a solution for investors who want their global equity allocation to reflect Catholic moral principles.
Ave Maria Bond Fund (AVEFX). The fixed income offering provides intermediate-term bond exposure with Catholic screening applied to corporate bond issuers. The Bond Fund has earned particular recognition, winning the 2025 LSEG Lipper Award as the best A-rated corporate bond fund for both three-year and five-year performance periods. This award is a significant independent validation of the fund’s investment management capabilities—demonstrating that Catholic screening does not prevent bond fund managers from delivering top-tier fixed income performance.
Ave Maria Growth Focused Fund (AVEAX). This concentrated equity fund takes a more focused approach, holding fewer positions with higher conviction. The concentrated structure means greater potential for both outperformance and underperformance relative to broader equity benchmarks—suitable for investors who want a higher-conviction expression of Catholic growth investing.
Ave Maria Value Focused Fund (AVERX). The value counterpart to the Growth Focused Fund, this concentrated fund applies Catholic screening to a select portfolio of deeply undervalued companies. Like its growth sibling, the focused approach amplifies both the potential rewards and risks of value investing within Catholic moral constraints.
Performance Track Record
Ave Maria’s performance record is one of the strongest in the faith-based investing space and has been central to the fund family’s growth to $3.8 billion in assets. The Rising Dividend Fund, in particular, has established a reputation for delivering consistent, competitive returns through multiple market cycles—demonstrating the practical effectiveness of combining dividend growth investing with Catholic moral screening.
The Bond Fund’s 2025 LSEG Lipper Awards for best three-year and five-year performance among A-rated corporate bond funds provides independent, third-party validation that Ave Maria’s investment management capabilities are genuinely competitive with the broader mutual fund industry—not just within the faith-based niche. Lipper Awards are based purely on risk-adjusted performance data, meaning the award reflects actual investment results rather than marketing claims or methodology descriptions.
Across the fund family, Ave Maria has generally delivered performance that is competitive with conventional benchmarks, with the more focused screening approach (four core screens rather than the broader lists used by evangelical providers) contributing to a larger investable universe and less performance drag from exclusions. This is not to suggest that narrower screening is inherently better—investors must decide whether Ave Maria’s four-screen approach adequately reflects their values—but it does mean that the performance cost of Catholic moral screening has been relatively modest.
How Catholic Screening Differs from Evangelical BRI
Understanding the distinction between Catholic moral screening and evangelical BRI screening is essential for investors choosing between providers. The differences are rooted in genuine theological distinctions rather than arbitrary preferences.
Catholic moral theology distinguishes between intrinsic evils—acts that are always and everywhere morally wrong regardless of circumstances—and matters of prudential judgment where the moral evaluation depends on context and degree. Abortion and embryonic stem cell research are classified as intrinsic evils in Catholic teaching, which is why these screens are non-negotiable for Ave Maria. Alcohol consumption, gambling, and tobacco use, by contrast, are treated as matters of prudential judgment: they can be sinful when practiced to excess or when they harm others, but they are not inherently evil in themselves.
Many evangelical Protestant traditions take a stricter view of alcohol, gambling, and tobacco, treating abstinence as the biblical standard rather than moderation. This theological difference explains why evangelical BRI providers like Timothy Plan and Inspire screen for these industries while Ave Maria does not. Neither approach is objectively “more biblical”—they reflect genuine denominational differences in how Scripture is interpreted and applied.
For practical investment purposes, the key implication is that Ave Maria’s more focused screening creates a larger investable universe. A Catholic investor who uses Ave Maria is accepting a narrower set of moral exclusions in exchange for broader diversification and potentially lower tracking error against conventional benchmarks. An evangelical investor using Timothy Plan or Inspire accepts broader exclusions that more significantly reshape the portfolio away from conventional index composition.
Catholic investors should also be aware that some evangelical BRI providers screen for issues that matter deeply to Catholic moral teaching (such as abortion and pornography) while adding screens for alcohol, tobacco, and gambling that Catholic teaching treats differently. For Catholics who are comfortable with the broader evangelical screening approach, providers like Inspire or Timothy Plan may still be suitable—they screen out everything Ave Maria screens out, plus additional categories. The reverse is not true: evangelical investors who believe alcohol and gambling companies should be excluded would not find Ave Maria’s screening adequate.
Expense Ratios and Value
Ave Maria’s expense ratios represent one of the fund family’s competitive advantages. The Growth Fund at approximately 0.91% is notably cheaper than comparable actively managed faith-based equity funds: Eventide’s Gilead Fund charges 1.38%, Timothy Plan’s growth funds run approximately 1.48%, and even some GuideStone funds carry comparable or higher fees. Across the Ave Maria lineup, expense ratios are generally competitive for actively managed funds and significantly more affordable than many faith-based alternatives.
The combination of competitive fees, strong performance, and focused Catholic screening creates what is arguably the strongest overall value proposition among faith-based mutual fund families for investors who align with Catholic moral teaching. Investors paying less in fees retain more of their investment returns, and Ave Maria’s fee structure suggests a firm that prioritizes investor outcomes rather than maximizing revenue extraction.
Strengths and Advantages
Proven performance. Ave Maria’s track record—particularly the Rising Dividend Fund and the Lipper Award-winning Bond Fund—demonstrates that Catholic moral screening is compatible with competitive or even superior investment performance. This is not theoretical; it is documented in decades of actual returns.
Competitive fees. Among actively managed faith-based fund families, Ave Maria offers some of the most reasonable expense ratios. The Growth Fund at 0.91% is significantly cheaper than comparable offerings from most faith-based competitors.
Authentically Catholic. The Catholic Advisory Board, the grounding in USCCB guidelines, and the focus on issues central to Catholic moral teaching make Ave Maria a genuine expression of Catholic identity rather than a generic Christian product with a Catholic label. For Catholic investors, this denominational specificity has real value.
Focused screening with practical benefits. By concentrating on the four issues most central to Catholic moral teaching, Ave Maria maintains a larger investable universe than providers with broader exclusion lists. This focus contributes to better diversification, lower tracking error, and less performance drag from screening.
Complete fund family. Seven funds spanning growth, value, dividend, international, fixed income, and concentrated equity strategies provide Catholic investors with the building blocks for a fully diversified portfolio from a single provider.
Limitations and Considerations
No ETF offerings. Unlike competitors such as Inspire, Timothy Plan, and Eventide, Ave Maria offers only mutual funds—no ETFs. This means potentially less tax efficiency for investors in taxable accounts, higher minimum investments, and no intraday trading capability. For investors in tax-advantaged retirement accounts, this limitation is less significant.
Catholic-specific screening may not satisfy all Christians. Evangelical investors who believe alcohol, tobacco, and gambling companies should be excluded will find Ave Maria’s screening incomplete. The fund family is designed specifically for Catholic investors who share the Catholic Church’s more nuanced approach to these industries.
No shareholder engagement program. Unlike Eventide, which actively engages with portfolio companies through proxy voting and direct advocacy, Ave Maria does not emphasize shareholder engagement as a tool for influencing corporate behavior. Investors who want their fund manager to use ownership as a vehicle for advocacy may prefer providers with more robust engagement programs.
Limited screening transparency. Ave Maria provides less public-facing detail about individual company screening decisions than some competitors. Inspire publishes Impact Scores for every company, and Eventide describes its Business 360 methodology in depth. Ave Maria’s screening process, while guided by the Catholic Advisory Board, is less publicly documented.
No advisory services or retirement plans. Ave Maria offers mutual funds only—no separately managed accounts, advisory services, or retirement plan platforms. Investors who want comprehensive financial services from their faith-based provider may need to supplement Ave Maria with additional providers or a separate financial advisor.
Who Should Consider Ave Maria
Ave Maria is the clear first choice for Catholic investors who want their investments to reflect Catholic moral teaching as articulated by the USCCB and guided by a Catholic Advisory Board. The fund family is also well-suited for performance-conscious investors who want faith-based screening with the strongest possible track record, fee-sensitive investors who value competitive expense ratios among actively managed faith-based funds, and dividend-focused investors attracted to the Rising Dividend Fund’s established track record of combining income growth with Catholic values.
Ave Maria may not be the best fit for evangelical investors who want broader screening including alcohol, tobacco, and gambling (consider Timothy Plan or Inspire), investors seeking ETF structures for tax efficiency (consider Inspire or Eventide), those who value active shareholder engagement and corporate advocacy (consider Eventide), investors who need integrated retirement plan services (consider GuideStone), or investors who want the lowest possible expense ratios through passive indexing (consider Inspire’s PTL at 0.09%).
The Bottom Line
Ave Maria Mutual Funds has built something rare in the faith-based investing world: a fund family with both genuine denominational identity and a competitive performance record that stands up against the broader mutual fund industry. The combination of authentic Catholic moral screening, reasonable fees, a Lipper Award-winning bond fund, and consistent equity performance makes Ave Maria the standard-bearer for Catholic investors seeking values-aligned investment options.
The fund family’s limitations are real—no ETFs, no advisory services, no shareholder engagement program—but for Catholic investors whose primary goal is owning mutual funds that screen according to Catholic moral teaching while delivering competitive returns, Ave Maria is difficult to beat. The fund family demonstrates that faithfulness to Catholic moral principles and prudent financial stewardship are not competing objectives but complementary ones—a message that has helped Ave Maria grow to $3.8 billion in assets and establish itself as one of the most successful faith-based investment families in the industry.
As with all investing decisions, Ave Maria’s funds should be considered within the broader context of faithful stewardship—including budgeting, debt management, generous giving, and the recognition that our financial resources are entrusted to us for purposes that extend far beyond personal wealth accumulation.