Massachusetts American Baptist Investment Trust

The Massachusetts American Baptist Investment Trust or MABIT was formed in 1993 to allow churches to participate in investment vehicles and strategies that they may not have access to otherwise due the size of individual investments. Management fees are also reduced due to the amount of our collective pooled investments. Approximately 30 Massachusetts Baptist churches invest in MABIT. The current trust assets total more than $6 million.

The MABIT Board of Trustees is made of volunteer Baptists from Massachusetts. The Board oversees the overall trust fund and the relationship with the Barcomb Group, a division of Merrill Lynch Wealth Investment. The Barcomb Group acts in a fiduciary role in managing the trust fund. From 2008 through 2019, MABIT’s equity fund outperformed the Dow Index 10 times with positive gains for 10 years. During the same time period, MABIT’s fixed income fund showed similar results. The MABIT Board of Trustees has historically recommended a conservative approach with a 60% equity and 40% fixed return portfolio mix. However, please note that your own risk tolerance should determine your mix of investments. Each investor always determines its own level of risk.

The Barcomb Group automatically eliminates certain investment options that are deemed as not socially responsible. A list of approximately 20 products and services such as alcohol, pornography and tobacco are screened out. However, please note each investor has full control over the products and services that are included or not.

Your money in MABIT is accessible. There are no CD maturity dates or other restrictions that limit access to your money when you need it. Some MABIT investors take automatic distributions to cover operating expenses while others make withdrawal requests to cover one-time expenses.

Any church interested in the help MABIT can provide can contact Dave Lambert, chair of MABIT’s board for further information. He will be happy to meet with you and arrange a meeting with you and representatives from the Barcomb Group to go over program options. He can be reached at 978.459.6959 or lambert@mit.edu. Dave is a member of First United Baptist Church in Lowell. Other board members are Bengt Hermanrud (secretary), Bob Williams, Rev. Dr. Richard Haley, Rev. Dr. John Page and Weimin Feng.

MABIT Board of Trustees