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The Federal Government Shutdown: How Concerned Should Investors Be?

October 7, 2013 — As of midnight, October 1, the U.S. Congress had not renewed the budgetary authority for the U.S. government, with the Republican-dominated House refusing to pass a continuing resolution because of the Tea Party-led objections to the Affordable Care Act.[Originally published October 3, 2013]

Note: The following is written by Cheryl I. Smith, Ph.D., CFA, a portfolio manager for the Green Century Balanced Fund, at the Fund’s investment sub-advisor, Trillium Asset Management. You can read more about the team of portfolio managers of the Green Century Balanced Fund at this page.

The following is an excerpt. To read the whole article, please go to Trillium’s website by clicking here.

How concerned should investors be?

As of midnight, October 1, the U.S. Congress had not renewed the budgetary authority for the U.S. government, with the Republican-dominated House refusing to pass a continuing resolution because of the Tea Party-led objections to the Affordable Care Act. As a result, the Federal government put contingency plans into place which designated which Federal employees were considered to be essential workers and which were to be immediately furloughed, that is, sent home without pay. Those employees considered to be essential will be working with delayed paychecks, that is, they can expect to eventually be paid but it is not guaranteed. Essential services will continue, including the distribution of Social Security benefits, homeland security, much of the military and essential health care services.  . . .

[O]ver the past nine months, consumers and businesses have been showing increasing resilience and willingness to spend.  . . . . We are more concerned about reaching the debt ceiling limit in mid-October, and view the current test of wills as a dress rehearsal for that debate.

Please read the rest of the commentary at the Trillium Asset Management website.

You should carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds, please click here, email info@greencentury.com, or call 1-800-93-GREEN. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of the date of the publication and are those of the portfolio managers and/or the Advisor. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed and are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances and industry developments. This information and data has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed and is not a complete summary or statement of all available data.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Bonds are subject to risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation.

The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 10/13

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