Invested in Your Future

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Q: Why has Thrivent Financial for Lutherans chosen to place more emphasis on investment products in the last several years?

A: People either want or have been forced to take more responsibility for their retirement needs, and we’ve evolved from simply filling a basic safety-net insurance need to providing for someone’s financially safe and comfortable retirement. Over the years, we’ve tried to adapt our products to meet the changing needs of our clients. We’ve been able to come up with services and products, such as our asset allocation funds, to serve these needs for people in very different walks of life.

Q: To what do you attribute the success of the asset allocation funds, which were created in 2005?

A: I think a big factor has been that they are designed to offer a total solution for members. They are actively managed full time by a team of investment professionals with access to the leading investment resources in the industry. This takes a lot of time and resources to do successfully, things many clients don’t have readily available to them.

Q: What’s your outlook for the Thrivent Asset Allocation Funds in 2007? The market as a whole?

A: We think the prices of certain market segments have been a little higher than they should be, so last year we began repositioning a portion of the portfolios to those groups that appear to provide better opportunity, such as large-cap stocks and bonds. As for the market as a whole, we’re not expecting a repeat of last year, when nearly every market segment made significant gains. High single-digit returns in stocks and more moderate returns in fixed income would be reasonable in the current environment.

Q. What is your role with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans?

A. As head of equity investments, I’m responsible for the teams that manage all the equity investments of our clients and our company. That means we make decisions about which stocks to buy and sell for our mutual funds.

Q. What are the benefits of working with a financial representative in regard to my investments?

A. A financial representative can help you define your unique financial goals and objectives and work with you to come up with an investment solution that’s appropriate for you. There are a tremendous number of options out there, which is a great thing, but along with all those options comes complexity. Your financial representative can help you sort through these critical details.

Q. Are Thrivent Mutual Funds competitive with other companies’ funds?

A. We’ve focused our resources on the major market segments we think are core components of our investors’ long-term success, and we’re proud of the way our funds have performed over the last few years.

Q. Why did Thrivent Investment Management create four asset allocation funds. How do these funds differ from other mutual funds?

A. Our asset allocation funds can provide a total investment solution for investors. There are four broad funds: aggressive, moderately aggressive, moderate and moderately conservative. Unlike most mutual funds, which focus on providing access to a single asset class, the asset allocation funds offer broad diversification, a key to a successful investment plan. In recent years, many investors have learned how important it is to maintain a well-diversified portfolio, but they simply don’t have the time, information and expertise to accomplish this alone. Our team of professional managers monitors these funds and strives to allocate assets thoughtfully and prudently within the framework of a particular risk/return profile.

Q. What role should these funds play in my portfolio?

A. There isn’t any single answer to that question. You can either rely totally on these funds, as many of our investors do, or use them as a core of your portfolio, to which you can add other things that might be unique to you. For example, there may be an individual security you own that you’ve been happy with, but at the same time you need to broaden your investment options. It’s possible to really customize your portfolio to your risk tolerance and specific situation. However, you really need to work with your financial representative to figure out how to best integrate these products into your total portfolio. It’s unique for each investor.

Q. What are some common mistakes made when people try to invest on their own?

A. The most common mistake people make is that they don’t have a plan, or in some cases, they don’t have a realistic plan. You really need to have a sense of what is reasonable to expect the financial markets to do for you over time. The markets are volatile, and sometimes if you’re not familiar enough with them, you can let emotions take over your decision-making process and make the wrong decision at the wrong time. For example, people sometimes rely too much on past experience to guide their current decisions. Either investors become overly optimistic, as they did during the stock market surge in the late ‘90s, or too pessimistic, as they did during the bear market of 2001-02. It’s also important to bear in mind that investing is usually a long-term process, so it doesn’t pay to be too reactive to the daily ups and downs of the market.

Q. How does my age affect the risks I should be taking?

A. Age is one of the critical factors you have to consider, as any plan is meaningfully impacted by how much time you have to implement it. Things happen, and you can get knocked off your course. Given enough time, you can get back on track. Without a lot of time, or earning years, you may not have time to get back in alignment following your old plan and thus may have to make a more significant mid-course correction.

Q. What trends are emerging in investing?

A. From the product side, the explosion in options available to investors is truly daunting. There are lots of great choices out there to help you achieve your objectives, but then there’s also a lot of ways to get in trouble. You have to be careful, and the best way to navigate the markets is to rely on a financial representative for help. Investors are being forced to take more ownership of their retirement futures, either because they want to or their employer is forcing it on them. In either case, the old model of counting on Social Security and a lifetime pension check for the bulk of your retirement security is outdated. Today, many retirees are relying on lump-sum payouts and defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, where the responsibility for your retirement income is being transferred from the employer to you.

Q. What tips can you give me for successful investing?

A. It comes back to understanding what investing can reasonably do for you and then having a plan to get to your goal—something your financial representative can help you achieve. Finally, it’s being willing to review that plan when circumstances change, as they always do. If it was easy, we’d all be rich, wouldn’t we?

Investing in a mutual fund involves risks, including the possible loss of principal. The prospectus contains more complete information on the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the investment company which investors should read and consider carefully before investing.  To obtain a prospectus contact a registered representative or visit www.thrivent.com.

Securities offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., 625 Fourth Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN, 55415-1665, 1-800-THRIVENT (1-800-847-4836), a wholly owned subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Member FINRA. Member SIPC. Asset management services provided by Thrivent Asset Management, LLC, an indirectly owned subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans."