DALLAS (BP)–Net income of $626 million in the first six months of 1998 topped any previous record for the first half of a year for the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The income was $163.1 million greater than the previous high for the January-June period in 1997. Earnings on investment funds, coupled with $146.8 million in new contributions by participants, swelled total assets of the board to $6.969 billion on June 30.
O.S. Hawkins, president of the agency that provides retirement, relief and insurance programs for Southern Baptist churches and institutions, said, “It is exciting to report investment successes for God’s choice servants. While historical trends indicate the tremendous earnings rates of recent years may not be sustainable over the long term, we intend to be positioned to serve our participants well no matter what the market conditions.”
Personal accounting statements and LifePoints Quarterly, an educational newsletter, will be mailed to each participant at the end of July.
