Fund overview
A diversified fund for dynamic market environments
The Absolute Return fund is a fund of funds that pursues positive total returns through dynamic allocations to equity, fixed income, and alternative investments.

This dynamic fund can adjust to changing markets in the pursuit of positive total returns.

 
Key differentiators

  • Seeks true diversification via a dynamic blend of systematic and fundamental strategies to provide a differentiated return source with low correlation to equities and fixed income
  • Downside risk is explicitly managed using proprietary put replication and cross-asset trend strategies
  • Utilizes a transparent and consistent process to minimize unwanted effects of behavioral bias and balance macro factors and style biases

Performance

Average annual returns Add Minus

Average annual returns

(as of 3/31/2024)
3/1/2012
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
Inception
Fund
2.84
3.21
3.21
13.72
3.70
3.71
2.83
3.57
Absolute Return Blended Index
1.66
2.81
2.81
9.24
1.98
5.13
4.64
4.73
Lipper Alternative Global Macro Funds
2.50
3.84
3.84
9.92
2.77
4.48
3.16
-
Expenses (as of 3/11/2024)
Gross Expense Ratio
0.72 %
Net Expense Ratio
0.72 %

One-month, three-month and year-to-date returns are not annualized.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on an investment in a fund. Investment return, principal value, and yields of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. 

Net asset value (NAV) is the value of one share of the fund excluding any sales charges.

R6 Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Calendar year Add Minus

Calendar year

(as of 12/31/2023)
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Fund
12.95
-2.41
2.74
-2.85
11.34
-5.49
12.78
3.05
-4.52
0.90
Benchmark
11.15
-13.77
7.98
11.82
14.66
-3.11
9.97
5.72
-0.83
5.08
Morningstar
10.72
0.00
11.31
6.18
16.10
-8.26
14.79
6.04
-4.15
1.54
Cumulative Add Minus

Cumulative

(as of 3/31/2024)

This chart shows the value of a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the fund over the specified time period up to 10 years or since its inception (for funds lacking 10-year records). The result is compared with benchmarks, which may include a broad-based market index and a peer group average or index. Market indexes do not include expenses, which are deducted from fund returns as well as mutual fund averages and indexes.

Does not include sales charges and assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. If sales charges were included, returns would be lower.

Performance and volatility metrics Add Minus

Performance and volatility metrics

(as of 3/31/2024)
3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
Alpha 2.38 -0.39 -12.56
Beta 0.64 0.82 0.90
Excess Return 1.51 -1.57 -1.90
Information Ratio 0.20 -0.22 -0.35
Sharpe Ratio 0.11 0.17 0.18
R2 0.44 0.52 0.58
Tracking Error 7.58 7.11 5.39
Standard Deviation 8.91 9.89 8.22
Upside Market Capture Ratio 72.53 69.30 73.45
Downside Market Capture Ratio 64.45 83.07 98.14
Morningstar ratings and rankings Add Minus

Morningstar ratings and rankings

(as of 3/31/2024)
Overall
Global Allocation (Out of 356 funds)
Three Year
36th percentile (133 out of 356)
Five Year
81st percentile (282 out of 338)
Ten Year
85th percentile out of 244

The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) ratings.

Morningstar rankings represent a fund's total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category. The percentile ranking is based on the fund's total return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. The highest (most favorable) percentile rank is 1% and the lowest (least favorable) percentile rank is 100%. Morningstar rankings do not include the effect of sales charges. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Prices and distributions

Historical prices

YTD high $11.25 3/27/2024
YTD low $10.68 1/17/2024
52-week high $11.25 3/27/2024
52-week low $10.05 5/31/2023
2023 high $11.21 12/26/2023
2023 low $9.95 3/19/2023
Best quarterly return 7.60% 6/30/2020
Worst quarterly return -15.97% 3/31/2020
Best annual return 12.95% 12/31/2023
Worst annual return -5.49% 12/31/2018

Distribution summary

Dividends Annually
Capital gains Semi-Annually

Distribution history

Distribution history Type Per share amount Re investment price
2023-12-27 Dividend $0.35969 $10.89
2022-12-28 Dividend $0.27696 $9.94
2021-12-29 Dividend $0.37979 $10.49
2020-12-29 Dividend $0.36817 $10.56
2019-12-27 Dividend $0.34255 $11.27
2018-12-26 Dividend $0.33405 $10.40
2017-12-26 Dividend $0.25892 $11.34
2016-12-27 Dividend $0.12993 $10.32
2015-12-28 Dividend $0.07606 $10.18
2015-12-11 Long-term capital gain $0.12256 $10.12
2014-12-30 Dividend $0.32401 $10.86
2014-12-11 Long-term capital gain $0.10662 $11.15
Download CSV

Composition

Portfolio statistics Add Minus

Portfolio statistics

(as of 3/31/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Holdings 13 2920
Median Market Cap 6.43 10.84
Dividend Yield 2.41 2.00
PE Ratio 17.28 20.48
PB Ratio 2.44 2.99
EPS Growth - 13.01
Return on Equity - 21.07
Portfolio Turnover 43.92 -
Credit quality Add Minus

Credit quality

(as of 3/31/2024)
Type
Fund
Benchmark
AAA/Aaa
7.91% -
AA/Aa
62.27% -
A/A
3.23% -
BBB/Baa
7.66% -
BB/Ba
10.64% -
B/B
5.14% -
CCC/Caa and below
0.95% -
Not rated
2.23% -

The ratings indicated are from Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings Ltd., and/or Moody's Investors Service. The percentages of the fund's portfolio with the ratings depicted in the chart are calculated based on total investments of the fund. If a security was rated by all three rating agencies, the middle rating was used. If rated by two of three rating agencies, the lower rating was used, and if rated by one of the agencies, that rating was used. Credit quality is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Maturity Add Minus

Maturity

(as of 3/31/2024)
Maturity Range
Fund
0 to 1 year
41.84%
1 - 3 years
22.53%
3 - 5 years
15.96%
5 - 10 years
14.25%
10 - 20 years
5.14%
Other
0.30%

Maturity distribution is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Asset allocation Add Minus

Asset allocation

(as of 3/31/2024)
Credit Assets
Allocation
Alternative investments
34.00%
Global equities
27.10%
Global high-yield credit
2.50%
Global investment-grade credit
8.00%
Global sovereign bonds
18.40%
Inflation-linked bonds
10.00%

Asset allocation is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Top 10 holdings Add Minus

Top 10 holdings

(as of 3/31/2024)
Security
Fund
GMO Implementation Fund
84.78%
GMO Debt Opportunities Fund, Class VI
3.66%
Allspring Alternative Risk Premia Fund - Class R6
2.80%
GMO Emerging Country Debt Fund, Class VI
2.78%
Allspring Income Plus Fund - Institutional Class
2.21%
GMO High Yield Fund VI Fund
0.92%
ALLSPRING SPECIAL INTERNATIONA ALLSPRING SP INTL SM CAP R6
0.69%
Wells Fargo Short-Term High Yield Bond Fund - Institutional Class
0.68%
Allspring Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund- R6
0.68%
ALLSPRING DISCIPLINED SMALL CA ALLSPRING DISC SM CAP R6
0.36%
Top 10 represents 99.55% of total net assets

Documents

Literature Details Date
Fact Sheet A, C, Administrator, Institutional, R6 3/31/2024 Download Download
Regulatory Document Details Date
Annual Report A, C, Administrator, Institutional, R6 4/30/2023 Download Download
Full Prospectus R6 3/11/2024 Download Download
Quarterly Holdings A, C, Administrator, Institutional, R6 7/31/2023 Download Download
Quarterly Holdings A, C, Administrator, Institutional, R6 1/31/2024 Download Download
Semi-annual Report A, C, Administrator, Institutional, R6 10/31/2023 Download Download
Statement of Additional Information A, C, Administrator, Institutional, R6 3/11/2024 Download Download
Summary Prospectus R6 3/11/2024 Download Download
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Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Absolute return funds are not intended to outperform stocks and bonds in strong markets, and there is no guarantee of positive returns or that the fund’s objectives will be achieved. Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Bond values fluctuate in response to the financial condition of individual issuers, general market and economic conditions, and changes in interest rates. Alternative investments, such as commodities and merger arbitrage strategies, are speculative and entail a high degree of risk. Foreign investments are especially volatile and can rise or fall dramatically due to differences in the political and economic conditions of the host country. These risks are generally intensified in emerging markets. The fund will indirectly be exposed to all of the risks of an investment in the underlying funds and will indirectly bear expenses of the underlying funds. Consult the fund's prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

  
The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or star rating, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36–59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60–119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Some of Morningstar’s proprietary calculations, including the Morningstar Rating™, are not customarily calculated based on adjusted historical returns. However, for new share classes/channels, Morningstar may calculate an extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended performance is calculated by adjusting the historical total returns of the oldest share class of a fund to reflect the fee structure of the younger share class/channel, attaching this data to the younger share class’s performance record, and then compounding the adjusted plus actual monthly returns into the extended-performance Morningstar risk-adjusted return for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year time periods. The Morningstar risk-adjusted returns are used to determine the extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended-performance Morningstar Rating for this fund does not affect the retail fund data published by Morningstar, as the bell curve distribution on which the ratings are based includes only funds with actual returns. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share funds is based on actual performance only or extended performance only. Once the share class turns three years old, the Overall Morningstar Rating will be based on actual ratings only. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share variable annuities is based on a weighted average of any ratings that are available.

While the inclusion of pre-inception data in the form of extended performance can provide valuable insight into the probable long-term behavior of newer share classes of a fund, investors should be aware that an adjusted historical return can provide only an approximation of that behavior. For example, the fee structures of a retail share class will vary from that of an institutional share class, as retail shares tend to have higher operating expenses and sales charges. These adjusted historical returns are not actual returns. The underlying investments in the share classes used to calculate the pre-performance string likely will vary from the underlying investments held in the fund after inception. Calculation methodologies used by Morningstar may differ from those applied by other entities, including the fund itself.

© 2024 Morningstar. All rights reserved. The information contained herein is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; may not be copied or distributed; and is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Performance for the fund or the class shown may reflect a predecessor fund's or class' performance and may be adjusted to reflect the fund's or class' expenses as applicable.