Depending on how your funds are invested — through a 403(b) plan, an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Personal Investment Account (PIA) — there may be tax consequences or plan rules that affect the availability of your funds. Moving to a more conservative fund allocation could cause you to lock in the losses.

Consider:

• You usually can only withdraw money from a 403(b) plan — like your employer-sponsored retirement plan — at termination of employment. If you are below the retirement age set forth in your plan, there can be serious tax consequences that can cost you up to a fourth or more of the assets in the plan.
• While the market is currently volatile, no one can predict with certainty when the market will return to equilibrium. See the article Market swings shouldn’t panic long-term investors for an example of how poor market timing — even just a few days — can cost an investor significantly.
• The key to weathering any economic storm is to be diversified and focus on your long-term goals. Your goals probably don’t change, so your strategy usually shouldn’t, even when the market has such volatility.
• GuideStone’s 90 years of service uniquely positions us as a trusted, lifelong partner. Our mutual funds have no commissions, and our fund managers are held to a rigorous selection and monitoring process.

Generally, yes. But please carefully consider the long-term implications to your investments before making any fund exchanges. Financial advisers will generally remind clients that they “lock in their losses” when they sell after a market drop. In essence, an investor may inadvertently find himself selling low and buying high when he attempts to follow the market to avoid short-term losses or capitalize on short-term gains rather than following a more disciplined, long-term investment approach.

Participants are prohibited from exchanging out of the Capital Preservation Fund to a “competing fund” without first investing in a “non-competing fund” for a period of at least 90 days. A “competing fund” is any fund predominantly invested in fixed-income securities whose average duration is generally less than 3 ½ years. For GuideStone Funds, “competing funds” are comprised of the Money Market fund, the Low-Duration Bond Fund, the Conservative Allocation Fund and the Conservative Allocation I Fund. The definition of a “non-competing fund” is any fund option(s) other than those funds defined as “competing funds.” Also, simultaneous exchanges are not allowed, meaning participants may not exchange from the fund to a “non-competing fund” and simultaneously exchange from a “non-competing fund” to a “competing fund.”

There are three notable advantages for choosing a GuideStone Money Market account:

1. Money can be withdrawn at any time in a money market account. With a CD, you will be penalized if you try to make a withdrawal prior to the given maturity date.
2. Check-writing privileges that you won’t find with a CD.
3. Ease of transfer of money from the money market fund to other funds in the GuideStone Funds family.

An investment in the Money Market Fund is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. Although the Fund seeks to maintain a value of $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money. Unlike a CD, the Fund does not offer fixed interest payments.

The Fund invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment grade fixed-income securities. The Fund may also invest to a lesser extent in high yield securities and money market instruments.

The Fund seeks to maintain, but does not guarantee, a stable price per share of $10, while paying monthly dividends based on a quarterly announced crediting rate.

Investing for the long term brings with it unavoidable ups and downs along the way. However, by investing in mutual funds, like those offered by GuideStone Funds, investors have the added benefit of investment diversification in a large number of companies that operate in a wide range of industries. In fact, mutual fund regulations limit the amount that a diversified mutual fund can invest in any one company.

While diversification will not eliminate the possibility of investment loss in times like these, it does limit investors’ financial exposure to the performance of any individual company in which the Funds invest. GuideStone’s multi-manager investment approach provides an additional level of diversification by providing access to multiple carefully selected world-class investment management firms within a single investment fund.

Read more about our manager-of-managers philosophy.

You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of GuideStone Funds before investing. For a copy of the prospectus with this and other information about the funds, please download a prospectus (pdf) or call 1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433). You should read the prospectus carefully before investing.

An investment in the Money Market Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. Although the Fund seeks to maintain a value of $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money.

GuideStone Funds shares are distributed by PFPC Distributors, Inc., a registered broker-dealer and underwriter of the funds, 760 Moore Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406.

Shares of the Capital Preservation Fund are offered by GuideStone Financial Resources, 2401 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas, TX 75201-1498. For more information about the Capital Preservation Fund, including fees and expenses call 1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433).