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- The Mormon Church's mysterious $100 billion fund revealed huge stakes in tech companies.
- Ensign Peak Advisors had a $40 billion stock portfolio at the end of 2019, SEC filings show.
- It included $6 billion worth of shares in Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Intel.
- Ensign doesn't hold Coca-Cola or Starbucks, likely because it doesn't invest in caffeine stocks.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Mormon Church's secretive $100 billion investment fund revealed massive stakes in Microsoft, Apple, and other tech titans for the first time this month.
Ensign Peak Advisors, the investing arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, boasted a $40 billion stock portfolio at the end of December, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
The fund - which is more than 50 years old - held $6 billion worth of shares in just five companies: Microsoft, Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, and Intel. It eschews businesses that Mormons find objectionable, The Wall Street Journal reported this month, which likely explains why it isn't an investor in tobacco titan Philip Morris, gambling giant Caesars Entertainment, or caffeine sellers such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola.
A whistleblower recently exposed Ensign as one of the world's biggest funds, ranking alongside SoftBank's Vision Fund in terms of assets. Mormon Church leaders kept its size a secret for years because they feared it would discourage donations known as tithes, The Journal reported. Mormons are obliged to give 10% of their yearly income to the church, which then passes any donations surplus to it budgetary needs to Ensign, the newspaper said.
Ensign didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
