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Fund Overview: Objective, Strategy and Holdings

  • Investors must meet certain qualifications to invest in AAF-I, some of which do not apply to investments in other WII funds. Investments in AAF-I are also subject to minimum commitment amounts determined by WII. To learn more, contact a member of Wespath’s Institutional Investment Services team (e-mail: [email protected], telephone: 1-847-866-4100)
  • AAF-I seeks attractive long-term capital appreciation by investing in a globally diversified portfolio of private equity and private credit investments

Fund Managers

The following individuals are responsible for the selection and monitoring of external asset managers:

Frank Holsteen portrait photo

Frank Holsteen

Managing Director, Investment Management

  • With Wespath since 2012
  • B.A. from Lake Forest College
Amy Bulger portrait photo

Amy Bulger

Director, Private Markets

  • With Wespath since 2013
  • B.S. from Northern Illinois University
  • MBA from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University
Piotr Chwala portrait photo

Piotr Chwala

Manager, Private Markets

  • With Wespath since 2014
  • B.A. from DePaul University

External Asset Managers

AAF-I invests primarily in one underlying privately offered, alternative asset feeder fund (the “Feeder Fund”). The Feeder Fund primarily invests in one alternative asset master fund (the “Master Fund”), which is advised by an external asset management firm.

Please refer to Investment Funds Description – I Series for a detailed description of the investment strategies used in managing the Fund.


1 Please see the Risk and Disclosure tab for more information on the estimated expense ratio.

Performance

Performance data is not yet available for AAF-I.

Quarterly AAF-I Unit values will be available approximately 90 days after each quarter-end, and 120 days following year-end.

Fund1,2 Performance, Net-of-Fees (as of 12/31/2023)

  3 mo YTD 1 yr 3 yr 5 yr 10 yr

Footnotes

See Risks and Disclosures for more information regarding net-of-fees performance.

The performance objective of AAF-I is to produce a return that exceeds the performance of a global public equities benchmark by 200 – 300 basis points (2.0 – 3.0 percentage points) over a long-term investment horizon of ten or more years, net of Annual Fund Operating Expenses. AAF-I is a newly formed entity with no prior performance history. As a result, there is only a limited basis upon which to evaluate AAF-I’s prospects for achieving its performance objectives. The performance of the underlying assets held by the Feeder Fund and the Master Fund in which AAF-I invests, directly and indirectly, may not be indicative of the future performance of AAF-I.

Please refer to Investment Funds Description – I Series for a detailed description of the investment strategies used in managing the Fund.

Wespath Benefits and Investments (“Wespath”) is a general agency of The United Methodist Church, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Wespath administers benefit plans and together with its subsidiaries, UMC Benefit Board, Inc. (“UMCBB”) and Wespath Institutional Investments, LLC (“WII”) invests (or provides back-office services for) assets on behalf of benefit plan participants and beneficiaries, plan sponsors and other institutions controlled by, affiliated with or related to The United Methodist Church (the “Church”). For GIPS compliance purposes, the Firm referenced herein is defined to include Wespath, UMCBB and WII (“Firm”). Wespath claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®). GIPS is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein. To obtain a copy of Wespath’s GIPS Report, please call us at 1-847-866-4100 or e-mail us at [email protected].

Characteristics

AAF-I invests primarily in one underlying privately offered, alternative asset feeder fund (the “Feeder Fund”). The Feeder Fund invests primarily in one alternative asset master fund (the “Master Fund”), which is advised by an external asset management firm. The Master Fund (and, consequently, both AAF-I and the Feeder Fund) invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of Private Equity and Private Credit investments.

The Master Fund’s investments include or are expected to include: (i) primary and secondary investments, (ii) direct investments in companies, including growth equity investments and co-investments, and (iii) Private Credit investments. The Master Fund seeks to provide investors qualified investors with broad diversification across geography, strategy and subclass.

Risks & 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. AAF-I is subject to the following principal investment risks: alternative investments risk, basis risk, business and regulatory risks of alternative asset funds, extraordinary events risk, force majeure events risk, market risk, investment style risk, security-specific risk, country risk, currency risk, derivatives risk and liquidity risk. AAF-I also may experience additional risks associated with its exposures to the Feeder Fund and Master Fund, as well as the additional risks set forth in the Investment Risks of the Funds section of the Investment Funds Description – I Series.

Historical returns are not indicative of future performance. For further discussion of the Fund’s investments strategies and risks, please refer to "Principal Investment Strategies — Alternative Asset Fund – I Series" in Investment Funds Description – I Series. This is not an offer to purchase securities.


Expense Ratio

The expense ratio displayed is an estimate, representing the total AAF-I expenses that investors are expected to incur each year as a percentage of the value of their investment. Annual Fund Operating Expenses are initially expected to be 1.34% of each investor’s investment in AAF-I. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s actual Annual Fund Operating Expenses will match the amounts reflected above. Actual Annual Fund Operating Expenses may vary depending on, among other things, market events, Fund size, transaction costs, timing of Fund inflows and outflows, and applicable internal costs and third-party fees. For further information about the Fund’s fees and expenses, please refer to the Investment Funds Description – I Series.