Liquor Stocks Aren’t Recession-Proof

Contrary to popular opinion, a recent MarketWatch story reports that so-called “sin” industries like tobacco companies, casinos and distillers haven’t been faring well in this recession. A few stock funds that espouse Catholic values, on the other hand, have done better.

It’s often been said that during tough economic times, liquor sales and gambling continue to thrive because consumers turn to them for cheap entertainment or escape from their problems.

For those non-investors out there, you may be surprised to learn there’s a mutual fund called The Vice Fund (VICEX), which invests solely in “sin” industry companies like those mentioned above. That fund posted a 42% loss ⎯ 4 percentage points worse than the S&P 500 ⎯ over the past 12 months, MarketWatch said.

Compare that performance to that of the Ave Maria mutual funds, which avoid investing in things that involve abortion or benefit Planned Parenthood; the family of funds as a whole handily bested both the Vice Fund and the S&P 500, a broadly-used stock market benchmark.

The Ave Maria Growth Fund, for example, earned 23% for its investors since its inception about six years ago, better than average losses of about 7% for the S&P 500 during the same period.

This recession seems to be busting a lot of conventional wisdom about what’s supposed to happen in an economic downturn.

Can you think of any products or services that are still thriving in this economy?

Tags: Economy, recession, recession products

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