July 31, 2021 | GuideStoneFunds.com

EQUITIES MACROECONOMIC EQUITIES

• The S&P 500® Index finished up 2.38% in July, its sixth • Despite the unemployment rate rising slightly to 5.9%, Market Performance (%) consecutive month of positive performance. Despite job growth was above expectations in June as 850k jobs increasing coronavirus case counts and hospitalizations, were added. To date, the U.S. economy has recovered 1 Mth YTD 3 Yr markets accelerated during the month in response to approximately 70% — over 15.5 million — of the 22.4 S&P 500® 2.38% 17.99% 18.16% strong earnings data and investors’ continued search for million jobs that were lost at the peak of the pandemic. Russell 1000® Value 0.80% 17.98% 11.27% return amidst low fixed income and Treasury yields. The hospitality industry, in particular, has seen robust ® 3.30% 16.71% 25.29% growth in recent months as workers have returned to jobs Russell 1000 Growth • We are now more than halfway through second quarter at restaurants and hotels amidst eased restrictions in many Russell 2000® -3.61% 13.29% 11.49% earnings season. Beat rates — when a company’s parts of the country. MSCI EAFE 0.75% 9.65% 7.66% reported earnings are higher than consensus expectations — are elevated, although this should come as no surprise • Once again, the Fed voted at its July meeting to maintain MSCI EM -6.73% 0.22% 7.93% given the current strength of the macroeconomic the Fed Funds rate at essentially zero. While Chairman environment and the large-scale rebound from last year’s Powell indicated that the central bank is nowhere near FIXED INCOME pandemic-driven decline in earnings. Of note, all 11 S&P considering a rate hike, it is notable that the Federal Open 500® sectors are reporting or are expected to report year- Market Committee (the Fed’s monetary policymaking over-year earnings growth. body) said in a unanimously approved statement that the Market Performance (%) economy is continuing to strengthen despite the recent 1 Mth YTD 3 Yr • Some economists and investment professionals believe spike in coronavirus cases. Amidst mounting inflationary 1.12% -0.50% 5.73% inflation may be beginning to crystalize into something pressures, some economists believe the central bank may U.S. Aggregate more than simply transitory. While the Federal Reserve soon consider changes to policy — particularly regarding U.S. IG Corporates 1.37% 0.08% 7.98% continues to maintain its stance that this spike in inflation the monthly purchase of Treasury and mortgage-backed U.S. HY Corporates 0.38% 4.01% 7.19% is a temporary one, consumers are seeing price hikes in a securities. Commentary from the Fed will be important to Global Aggregate 1.33% -1.92% 4.74% wide array of products from paint to Post-it Notes. This is pay attention to in the coming months, as tighter something we will be watching closely, as the ultimate monetary policy is a material risk to lofty equity U.S. 90-Day Treasury 0.06% magnitude, persistence and breadth of the current valuations. U.S. 2 Yr. Treasury 0.19% inflationary environment will be a key determinant of the 1.24% future direction of the economy. • According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. U.S. 10 Yr. Treasury economy expanded at an annualized rate of 6.5% in the • Developed Market equities were positive in July as the second quarter — slower than expected but still its fastest INTERESTING FACT U.S. dollar depreciated toward the end of the month and pace since last fall. This pushed the size of the economy, as • returns across countries and style factors were relatively measured by real gross domestic product, beyond its pre- Refreshing or revolting? The Kraft Heinz Company recently muted. pandemic level. Economic expansion over the most recent partnered with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream to introduce a three-month period was fueled largely by strong consumer limited-edition macaroni and cheese flavor of ice cream. • Emerging Market equities were negative in July amidst a According to a news release from Kraft Heinz, “…there is barrage of regulatory actions focused on the Chinese spending, especially on food services (dining out) and accommodations (traveling). nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than ice technology industry. As a result, Chinese equities were cream. That is why we wanted to combine two of the most down materially for the month. iconic comfort foods to create an ice cream with the REAL ASSETS unforgettable flavor of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese…” Perhaps FIXED INCOME surprisingly, this “ice cream you never knew you needed” • WTI crude oil futures closed relatively flat in July at quickly sold out online and at each of the Van Leeuwen ice • The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell in July to close at approximately $74/bbl. Oil prices have increased 45% this cream shops across the country. For consumers who are 1.24%, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline. year as global demand has risen and supplies have clamoring to try this cheesy dessert, don’t fret — the Despite strong economic growth and sustained tightened. Some economists are now concerned about an companies promise that a new batch will soon be available. inflationary pressures, yields fell during the month as imbalance in supply and demand as the global economy investors worried about the potential ramifications of continues to reopen and travel begins to resume in See next page for important disclosures surging coronavirus cases. earnest. July 31, 2021 | GuideStoneFunds.com

DISCLOSURES

Source: Morningstar Performance greater than one year is annualized. This information is prepared by GuideStone Capital Management LLC®, a controlled affiliate of GuideStone Financial Resources®. This material is provided for educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities. The information contained in this document is not intended to be used as a general guide to investing or as a source of any specific investment recommendations. This document makes no implied or express recommendations concerning the manner in which any client’s account should be handled, as appropriate investment strategies depend upon the client’s investment objectives. This document is for general information purposes only. It does not take into account the particular investment objectives, restrictions, tax and financial situations or other needs of any specific client. This information does not represent any GuideStone® product.

The material represented has been obtained from sources we consider reliable but which we cannot guarantee. It is subject to change without notice and is not intended to influence your investment decisions. This information discusses general market activity, industry or sector trends and other broad-based economic, market or political conditions and should not be construed as research or investment advice. All indexes used with permission. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. All indexes are unmanaged. Index performance assumes no taxes, transaction costs, fees or expenses. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The funds described herein are indexed to an MSCI index and are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to any such funds or securities or any index on which such funds or securities are based. The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with GuideStone Funds® and any related funds. Frank Russell Company (“Russell”) is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company. Neither Russell nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the Russell Indexes and/or Russell ratings and/or underlying data and no party may rely on any Russell Indexes and/or Russell ratings and/or underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of Russell Data is permitted without Russell’s express written consent. Russell does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication. “Standard & Poor’s®”, “S&P®”, “S&P 500®”, “Standard & Poor’s 500” and “500” are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and have been licensed for use by GuideStone Funds. The Product is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poor’s, and Standard & Poor’s makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Product. S&P 500®: A market capitalization-weighted equity index composed of approximately 500 U.S. companies representing all major industries. The index is designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of its constituents. Russell 1000® Value: A large-cap index consisting of those Russell 1000 Index securities with a less-than-average growth orientation. Companies in this index tend to exhibit lower price-to-book and price-to-earnings ratios, higher dividend yields and lower forecasted growth values than the growth universe. Russell 1000® Growth: A large-cap index consisting of those Russell 1000 Index securities with a greater-than-average growth orientation. Companies in this index tend to exhibit higher price-to-book and price-to-earnings ratios, lower dividend yields and higher forecasted growth values than the value universe. Russell 2000®: Measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe and is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index, representing approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of that index. It includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership. The index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure that larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the actual small-cap opportunity set. MSCI EAFE: A free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada. MSCI EM: A free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance of emerging markets. U.S. Aggregate: The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based flagship benchmark that measures the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate, taxable bond market. The index includes Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), ABS and CMBS (agency and non-agency). U.S. IG Corporates: The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Credit – Corporate – Investment Grade Index measures the investment grade, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bond market. It includes U.S. dollar-denominated securities publicly issued by U.S. and non-U.S. industrial, utility and financial issuers. U.S. HY Corporates: The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index – 2% Issuer Capped is an issuer-constrained version of the flagship Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index, which measures the U.S. dollar- denominated, high-yield, fixed-rate corporate bond market. The index follows the same rules as the uncapped version but limits the exposure of each issuer to 2% of the total market value and redistributes any excess market value index- wide on a pro rata basis. Global Aggregate: The Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index – Unhedged is a flagship measure of global investment grade debt. This multi-currency benchmark includes treasury, government-related, corporate and securitized fixed- rate bonds from both developed and emerging markets issuers.

© 2021 GuideStone® 671455 08/21