Multiple Asset Fund (MAF)
Fund Performance (Gross)
Fund Performance (Net)
Risk and Disclosures
Fund Objective, Strategy and Holdings
- Earn current income and long-term capital appreciation from a broadly diversified portfolio of publicly and private U.S. and international investments.
- Holds a pre-specified allocation of units of the following Wespath funds: Fixed Income Fund (FIF), Inflation Protection Fund (IPF), International Equity Fund (IEF) and U.S. Equity Fund (USEF).
Management
The Multiple Asset Fund (MAF), through its investment in the four other Wespath funds, participates in the management styles of more than 50 different investment management firms. These managers provide the fund with broad diversification of holdings in a variety of U.S. and non-U.S. securities. These include stocks, traditional bonds, inflation-linked bonds, real estate investment trusts, securities, commodities, and interests in private equity and private real estate partnerships. In addition, through FIF, MAF holds participation interests in loans originated through Wespath’s Positive Social Purpose Lending Program.
Asset Managers
MAF is a "fund of funds," managed by over 50 investment managers. For a detailed list of managers, please see the individual funds pages for:
Performance Objective
The performance objective for MAF is to produce a return that, on average, exceeds that of the performance of a blended benchmark (“Benchmark”) by 0.8% on average per year, net of all fees, over a market cycle (three to five years). The Benchmark is comprised of the Russell 3000 Index (45%), the MSCI All Country World Index (excluding US) Investable Markets Index (20%), the Barclays Capital U.S. Universal Index (excluding mortgage backed securities) (25%) and the Barclays Capital U.S. Government Inflation-Linked Bond Index (10%).
Performance Review
During the first quarter, the performance of the fund (+8.7%) exceeded that of its benchmark by 0.3%. The fund's relative outperformance was attritutable to the above benchmark performance of the two fixed income funds and the international equity fund.
Target and Range of Fund Holdings
| Fund |
Target |
Range |
| FIF |
25% |
22-28% |
| IPF |
10% |
8-12% |
| IEF |
20% |
17-23% |
| USEF |
45% |
42-48% |
During aberrant market conditions, Wespath may temporarily elect to suspend rebalancing back to the pre-specified mix. Wespath will resume rebalancing once market conditions have improved. MAF residual cash is invested in the Short Term Investment Fund (STIF).
Fund Performance
Performance, Gross of Fees
Multiple Asset Fund - March 31, 2012
Gross of Fees
Source: BNY Mellon
The accompanying chart represents the range of investment returns for the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe for diversified asset pools. BNY Mellon provides a fund-level tracking service used to compare Wespath's actual gross of fees performance for its diversified investment strategy to the performance of similar asset pools of other institutional investors. As of March 31, 2012, the Universe consisted of data for 717 corporate, foundation, endowment, public, Taft-Hartley and health care plans updated through May 2, 2012.
1 The returns shown for the period January 1, 2002 to to April 30,2002 reflect the performance of the Diversified Investment Fund, the predecessor to MAF. Wespath Investment Management served as advisor to the predecessor Fund. The investment goals, strategies and policies of the Multiple Asset Fund are substantially similar to those of the predecessor Fund.
See Risk and Disclosures for more information regarding Gross of Fees Performance.
Performance, Net of Fees - April 30, 2012
| |
3 mo |
YTD |
1 yr |
3 yr |
5 yr |
10 yr2 |
| Multiple Asset Fund |
4.0%
|
8.8%
|
0.9%
|
15.2%
|
3.3%
|
6.9%
|
| MAF Composite Benchmark3 |
3.9%
|
8.3%
|
2.2% |
15.5% |
2.9%
|
|
2As the inception date of MAF is May 1, 2002, the 10 year net of fees return is calculated based on the gross of fees strategy return minus the operating expenses of 0.63% (which represents the estimated average fund operating exprenses over this period).
3Comprised of the Russell 3000 Index (45%), the MSCI All Country World Index (excluded US) Investable Markets Index (20%), the Barclays Capital U.S. Universal Index (excluded mortgage backed securities)(25%) and the Barclays Capital U.S. Government Inflation-Linked Bond Index (10%).
See Risk and Disclosures for more information regarding Net of Fees Performance.
Multiple Asset Fund Allocations as of 3/31/2012
Expense Ratio
MAF pays for fees and expenses indirectly through the underlying funds held by MAF. All expenses of the fund are deducted from the fund’s net asset value. The expenses include investment management fees, operating expenses, bank custodial fees and miscellaneous fund administration expenses. These expenses are reflected in the unit price calculated for the fund. The unit price is multiplied by the number of units held in each client’s account to determine the total value of the client’s holdings in the fund. For 2011, MAF’s expenses were equal to approximately 0.67% of the fund’s total assets.
Risk and Disclosures
All investments carry some degree of risk that will affect the value of the fund’s holdings, its investment performance and the price of its units. As a result, loss of money is a risk of investing in the fund. MAF is subject to the following principal investment risks: market risk, investment style risk, security-specific risk, credit risk, country risk, currency risk, deflation risk, derivatives risk, interest rate risk, prepayment risk and liquidity risk.
For further discussion of the fund’s investments strategies and risks, please refer to "Principal Investment Strategies and Principal Investment Risks of the Funds — Multiple Asset Fund" in the Wespath Investment Funds Description, as well as the web pages for the four underlying funds.
Lending of Portfolio Securities
The fund seeks to earn additional income by lending a portion of its portfolio of securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. The loans are secured at all times by cash and liquid high-grade debt obligations. As with any extension of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery and in some cases even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. In addition, losses could result from the reinvestment of the cash collateral received on loaned securities.
Gross of Fees Performance
As of January 1, 2006, Wespath has adopted a “fund of funds” approach for managing MAF. Previously, Wespath managed MAF as a separate fund with dedicated strategies for investing in fixed income securities, inflation-protected securities, and U.S. and non-U.S. stocks. The performance chart and table show the actual compounded annual rate of return of MAF since January 1, 2006.
For years prior to January 1, 2006, the performance chart and table above show the actual compounded annual rate of return for the same separately managed diversified, multi-manager strategy for MAF and the fund that preceded MAF (the Diversified Investment Fund). Please refer to the Wespath Investment Funds Description for additional information regarding performance.
Net of Fees Performance
The net of fees performance includes the actual compounded annual rate of return for the fund since May 1, 2002. This includes the actual performance of the fund from May 1, 2002 to December 31, 2005, when the fund was managed as a separate fund with dedicated strategies for investing in fixed income securities, inflation-protected securities, and U.S. and non-U.S. stocks.
The fund generally does not invest in companies that derive more than 10% of their revenue from gambling or from the manufacture, sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages, tobacco-related products, pornography, weapons, or the management or operation of prison facilities.