Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. (the “Adviser”) has been providing
investment advice to institutional and individual investors since 1980. George
P. Schwartz is the Executive Chairman of the Adviser and owns a controlling
interest in the Adviser.
Types of Advisory Services: The Adviser provides portfolio management
services and investment advisory services for mutual funds, individually
managed accounts (individuals, institutions, pension plans, profit sharing plans,
401(k) plans, foundations, trusts, corporations or other businesses not listed),
model portfolios using proprietary strategies and separately managed accounts.
The Adviser serves as investment adviser to Schwartz Investment Trust, an
open-end management investment company and its seven series. The following
5 series are diversified:
• Ave Maria Value Fund,
• Ave Maria Growth Fund,
• Ave Maria Rising Dividend Fund,
• Ave Maria World Equity Fund and
• Ave Maria Bond Fund.
The following 2 series are non-diversified:
• Ave Maria Focused Fund and
• Schwartz Value Focused Fund.
Non-diversified Funds may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the
securities of a limited number of issuers than a fund that is diversified. At times,
these Funds may overweight a position in a particular issuer or emphasize
investment in a limited number of issuers, industries or sectors, which may
cause its share price to be more volatile with respect to any economic, business,
political or regulatory occurrence affecting an issuer than a fund that is more
widely diversified. The number of issues that the Fund may invest in will vary
from time to time.
The Adviser manages equity and fixed income portfolios and balanced
portfolios. The Adviser may recommend all types of equity and debt securities,
including, but not limited to, common stocks, preferred stocks, corporate bonds,
U.S. Government securities, mortgage-backed securities, convertible securities,
warrants, foreign securities, municipal bonds, shares of investment companies
including exchange-traded funds, and commercial paper. The Adviser provides
investment advisory services for accounts on a discretionary basis, with
exceptions in limited situations.
In providing investment advisory services to the Ave Maria Mutual Funds, the
Adviser adheres to Catholic moral screens established by the Ave Maria Mutual
Funds’ Catholic Advisory Board that consist of prominent lay members of the
Roman Catholic Church and one or more Ecclesiastical Advisors. The Catholic
Advisory Board members are guided by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic
Church, who is the authority or
office of the Roman Catholic Church to teach the
authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in
universal faith and moral practices. The moral screens will, in general, avoid
four major categories of companies: (i) those involved in the practice of
abortion; (ii) those whose policies are judged to be antifamily, such as
companies that distribute pornographic material; (iii) those that contribute
corporate funds to Planned Parenthood; and (iv) those that support embryonic
stem cell research. The Fund is not authorized or sponsored by the Roman
Catholic Church and the Catholic Advisory Board is not affiliated with the
Roman Catholic Church
The Adviser tailors advisory services to each client by attempting to select the
appropriate investment mix based on the client’s investment goals. The Adviser
attempts to meet with individual clients in person at least annually and provides
performance reports at least quarterly. For individually managed accounts that
are part of a pension or other employee benefit plan governed by the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) or an Individual
Retirement Account (an “IRA”) governed by the Internal Revenue Code, the
Adviser is a “fiduciary” within the meaning of Section 3(21) of ERISA (but only
with respect to the provision of services described in our Advisory Agreement).
The Adviser is qualified to manage Plan assets under applicable regulations. With
respect to Schwartz Investment Trust, the Adviser adheres to the investment
objectives, investment policies and investment restrictions and limitations
described in each Funds’ prospectus and statement of additional information,
which can be found at
www.schwartzvaluefocused.com and/or
www.avemariafunds.com.
The Adviser provides use of its proprietary models (referred to as strategies) to
firms not related to Adviser for a predetermined fee. The Adviser’s models are
the Ave Maria Growth Strategy, the Ave Maria Value Strategy, the Ave Maria
Rising Dividend Strategy and the Ave Maria World Equity Strategy.
For any firms using our strategies, the Adviser does not have access to individual
client information and does not manage their clients individual accounts on a
continuous basis. The Adviser only provides the model security positions and
relative percentage’s, along with subsequent updates to the models as they
occur. Adviser is paid a negotiated fee based on the market value of assets
managed.
The Adviser does not participate in wrap fee programs.