Dividend Investing Ideas Center
Critical Facts You Need to Know About Preferred Stocks
Have you ever wished for the safety of bonds, but the return potential...
Name
As of 10/11/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Exp Ratio
Watchlist
YTD Return
7.8%
1 yr return
17.7%
3 Yr Avg Return
1.7%
5 Yr Avg Return
3.1%
Net Assets
$2.26 B
Holdings in Top 10
31.2%
Expense Ratio 0.95%
Front Load 4.25%
Deferred Load N/A
Turnover 72.00%
Redemption Fee N/A
Standard (Taxable)
$1,000
IRA
$250
Fund Type
Open End Mutual Fund
Name
As of 10/11/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Exp Ratio
Watchlist
MFS (Massachusetts Financial Services Company, the fund’s investment adviser) normally invests the fund’s assets primarily in a broad range of debt instruments and equity securities of U.S. and foreign issuers, including real estate-related investments and emerging market securities.
MFS allocates the fund’s assets across the following categories based on its interpretation of economic and money market conditions, fiscal and monetary policy and asset class and/or security values. When MFS' assessment of the relative attractiveness of these categories is neutral, the fund's exposure to these categories is expected to be approximately:
Category | Neutral Position |
Investment Grade Quality Debt Instruments | 15% |
Lower Quality Debt Instruments | 25% |
U.S. Government Securities | 10% |
Emerging Market Debt Instruments | 15% |
Dividend-Paying Equity Securities | 20% |
Real Estate-Related Investments | 15% |
These allocations may vary significantly from time to time.
For the debt instrument portion of the fund, MFS normally focuses on investing the fund's assets in investment grade quality corporate bonds, U.S. Government securities, below investment grade quality debt instruments of developed market issuers, and debt instruments of emerging market issuers (including below investment grade quality debt instruments of emerging market issuers). Of the fund’s investments in debt instruments, MFS may invest up to 100% of these investments in below investment grade quality debt instruments. MFS may purchase or sell securities for the fund on a when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis where payment and delivery take place at a future settlement date, including mortgage-backed securities purchased or sold in the to be announced (TBA) market.
For the equity portion of the fund, MFS focuses on investing the fund’s assets in dividend-paying stocks of U.S. and foreign issuers. In selecting equity investments for the fund, MFS is not constrained by any particular investment style. MFS may invest the fund’s assets in the stocks of companies it believes to have above average earnings growth potential compared to other companies (growth companies), in the stocks of companies it believes are undervalued compared to their perceived worth (value companies), or in a combination of growth and value companies. While MFS may invest the equity portion of the fund’s assets in securities of companies of any size, MFS primarily invests in securities of companies with large capitalizations.
For the real estate-related portion of the fund, MFS invests the fund’s assets in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other companies principally engaged in the real estate industry. MFS generally focuses the fund’s real estate-related investments in equity REITs, but may also invest in mortgage REITs and other real estate-related investments. Issuers of real estate-related investments tend to have small-to-medium market capitalizations.
MFS normally invests the fund's assets across different industries, sectors, countries, and regions, but MFS may invest a significant percentage of the fund’s assets in issuers in a single industry, sector, country, or region.
While MFS may use derivatives for any investment purpose, to the extent MFS uses derivatives, MFS expects to use derivatives primarily to increase or decrease exposure to a particular market, segment of the market, or security, to increase or decrease interest rate or currency exposure, or as alternatives to direct investments. Derivatives include futures, forward contracts, options, and swaps.
MFS uses an active bottom-up investment approach to buying and selling investments for the fund. For the debt and real estate-related portions of the fund, investments are selected primarily based on fundamental analysis of individual issuers and instruments. For the equity portion of the fund, investments are selected primarily based on blending fundamental and quantitative research and then constructing a portfolio of equity securities while managing various risk factors (e.g., issuer, industry, and sector weightings, market capitalization, and volatility). Quantitative models that systematically evaluate issuers and instruments are used by the fund's equity securities portfolio manager and may also be considered by the fund's other portfolio managers.
MFS may invest the fund's assets in other mutual funds advised by MFS that invest in particular investment types rather than invest directly in such investments.
Period | DIFAX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
YTD | 7.8% | -2.9% | 15.8% | 80.86% |
1 Yr | 17.7% | 8.8% | 28.4% | 51.08% |
3 Yr | 1.7%* | -14.5% | 5.9% | 63.83% |
5 Yr | 3.1%* | -5.4% | 8.5% | 89.71% |
10 Yr | 3.4%* | -0.2% | 7.8% | 89.90% |
* Annualized
Period | DIFAX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 5.3% | -1.0% | 27.4% | 64.99% |
2022 | -16.7% | -35.0% | -7.4% | 52.67% |
2021 | 4.0% | -11.5% | 14.6% | 31.09% |
2020 | -0.8% | -10.3% | 40.7% | 91.58% |
2019 | 13.9% | -9.5% | 22.1% | 5.42% |
Period | DIFAX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
YTD | 7.8% | -2.9% | 15.8% | 80.86% |
1 Yr | 17.7% | 8.8% | 28.4% | 51.08% |
3 Yr | 1.7%* | -14.5% | 5.9% | 63.83% |
5 Yr | 3.1%* | -5.4% | 8.5% | 89.71% |
10 Yr | 3.4%* | -0.2% | 7.8% | 89.90% |
* Annualized
Period | DIFAX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 9.6% | 2.6% | 28.2% | 65.47% |
2022 | -12.5% | -35.0% | -3.1% | 38.83% |
2021 | 9.6% | -11.5% | 32.0% | 22.64% |
2020 | 2.5% | -5.4% | 40.7% | 95.26% |
2019 | 16.8% | 4.5% | 27.7% | 19.24% |
DIFAX | Category Low | Category High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Net Assets | 2.26 B | 291 K | 50.8 B | 17.70% |
Number of Holdings | 1351 | 2 | 4065 | 9.33% |
Net Assets in Top 10 | 677 M | 284 K | 10.3 B | 32.78% |
Weighting of Top 10 | 31.22% | 9.7% | 111.4% | 75.12% |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bonds | 43.81% | 0.00% | 79.74% | 24.88% |
Stocks | 30.72% | 0.00% | 100.08% | 84.45% |
Cash | 2.81% | -35.68% | 25.19% | 34.45% |
Convertible Bonds | 1.13% | 0.00% | 71.77% | 34.54% |
Other | 0.68% | -0.45% | 61.72% | 15.55% |
Preferred Stocks | 0.00% | 0.00% | 21.95% | 54.31% |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Real Estate | 42.23% | 0.00% | 43.16% | 1.95% |
Healthcare | 13.35% | 0.00% | 24.25% | 46.72% |
Consumer Defense | 11.37% | 0.00% | 18.62% | 12.65% |
Financial Services | 9.35% | 0.00% | 83.50% | 94.40% |
Technology | 6.91% | 0.22% | 27.92% | 88.81% |
Basic Materials | 3.83% | 0.00% | 32.82% | 70.07% |
Communication Services | 3.55% | 0.00% | 11.11% | 86.86% |
Industrials | 3.12% | 0.14% | 17.90% | 95.38% |
Utilities | 2.69% | 0.00% | 48.33% | 72.99% |
Energy | 1.94% | 0.00% | 62.93% | 91.48% |
Consumer Cyclical | 1.67% | 0.00% | 14.20% | 95.38% |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | 21.14% | 0.00% | 100.08% | 82.54% |
Non US | 9.58% | 0.00% | 23.24% | 7.89% |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Corporate | 61.13% | 0.00% | 96.66% | 11.84% |
Government | 23.63% | 0.00% | 63.33% | 57.73% |
Securitized | 8.07% | 0.00% | 52.08% | 78.02% |
Cash & Equivalents | 2.81% | 0.00% | 25.19% | 32.30% |
Municipal | 0.35% | 0.00% | 99.85% | 50.24% |
Derivative | -0.03% | -0.45% | 61.72% | 91.63% |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | 42.10% | 0.00% | 79.74% | 25.84% |
Non US | 1.71% | 0.00% | 7.66% | 6.94% |
DIFAX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Expense Ratio | 0.95% | 0.06% | 21.26% | 46.17% |
Management Fee | 0.55% | 0.00% | 1.25% | 81.77% |
12b-1 Fee | 0.25% | 0.00% | 1.00% | 34.04% |
Administrative Fee | N/A | 0.01% | 0.70% | N/A |
DIFAX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Front Load | 4.25% | 1.00% | 5.75% | 76.47% |
Deferred Load | N/A | 1.00% | 5.00% | N/A |
DIFAX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Max Redemption Fee | N/A | 0.00% | 2.00% | N/A |
Turnover provides investors a proxy for the trading fees incurred by mutual fund managers who frequently adjust position allocations. Higher turnover means higher trading fees.
DIFAX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Turnover | 72.00% | 2.00% | 380.00% | 83.81% |
DIFAX | Category Low | Category High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend Yield | 4.62% | 0.00% | 7.99% | 29.67% |
DIFAX | Category Low | Category High | Category Mod | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend Distribution Frequency | None | Annual | Monthly | Monthly |
DIFAX | Category Low | Category High | DIFAX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Net Income Ratio | 2.78% | -1.22% | 6.83% | 18.93% |
DIFAX | Category Low | Category High | Capital Mode | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Capital Gain Distribution Frequency | Semi-Annually | Annually | Annually | Annually |
Date | Amount | Type |
---|---|---|
Sep 30, 2024 | $0.048 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 30, 2024 | $0.046 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jul 31, 2024 | $0.044 | OrdinaryDividend |
Apr 30, 2024 | $0.037 | OrdinaryDividend |
Mar 28, 2024 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Feb 29, 2024 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jan 31, 2024 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 29, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Nov 30, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Oct 31, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Sep 29, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 31, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jul 31, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jun 30, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
May 31, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Apr 28, 2023 | $0.036 | OrdinaryDividend |
Mar 31, 2023 | $0.034 | OrdinaryDividend |
Feb 28, 2023 | $0.034 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jan 31, 2023 | $0.034 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 30, 2022 | $0.034 | OrdinaryDividend |
Nov 30, 2022 | $0.034 | OrdinaryDividend |
Oct 31, 2022 | $0.032 | OrdinaryDividend |
Sep 30, 2022 | $0.031 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 31, 2022 | $0.031 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jul 29, 2022 | $0.031 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jul 29, 2022 | $0.006 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Jul 29, 2022 | $0.147 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jun 30, 2022 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
May 31, 2022 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Apr 29, 2022 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Mar 31, 2022 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Feb 28, 2022 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jan 31, 2022 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 31, 2021 | $0.082 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 16, 2021 | $0.023 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Dec 16, 2021 | $0.234 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Nov 30, 2021 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Oct 29, 2021 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Sep 30, 2021 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 31, 2021 | $0.029 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jul 30, 2021 | $0.010 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jul 30, 2021 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jun 30, 2021 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
May 28, 2021 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Apr 30, 2021 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Mar 31, 2021 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Feb 26, 2021 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jan 29, 2021 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 31, 2020 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Nov 30, 2020 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Oct 30, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Sep 30, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 31, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jul 31, 2020 | $0.007 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Jul 31, 2020 | $0.024 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jul 31, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jun 30, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
May 29, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Apr 30, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Mar 31, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Feb 28, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Jan 31, 2020 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 31, 2019 | $0.041 | OrdinaryDividend |
Nov 29, 2019 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Oct 31, 2019 | $0.028 | OrdinaryDividend |
Sep 30, 2019 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 30, 2019 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 01, 2019 | $0.030 | OrdinaryDividend |
Aug 01, 2019 | $0.004 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jun 28, 2019 | $0.032 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 20, 2018 | $0.017 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jul 31, 2018 | $0.061 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 21, 2017 | $0.060 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jul 29, 2016 | $0.003 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 22, 2015 | $0.277 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Aug 03, 2015 | $0.023 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Aug 03, 2015 | $0.106 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 23, 2014 | $0.026 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Dec 23, 2014 | $0.127 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jun 02, 2014 | $0.008 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Jun 02, 2014 | $0.078 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 11, 2013 | $0.044 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Dec 11, 2013 | $0.101 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Jun 03, 2013 | $0.028 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 07, 2012 | $0.009 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 03, 2007 | $0.038 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Dec 03, 2007 | $0.030 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
May 31, 2007 | $0.031 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Dec 22, 2006 | $0.003 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
May 26, 2006
16.02
16.0%
Jonathan W. Sage, CFA, is an investment officer and a portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management. He manages blended research equity strategies utilized by the firm's mutual funds and institutional accounts. He joined MFS in 2000 as a quantitative equity research analyst and was named a portfolio manager in 2005. Prior to joining MFS, Jonathan spent two years as a supervisor of portfolio administration for Santander Global Advisors, Inc. and three years as a senior mutual fund accountant for First Data Investor Services Group.
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
May 26, 2006
16.02
16.0%
Geoffrey L. Schechter, CFA, CPA, is an investment officer at MFS Investment Management® (MFS®) and a portfolio manager of the firm's government securities and municipal bond portfolios. Geoff joined MFS as an investment officer in 1993 after working as a municipal credit analyst with a major insurance company. He was named portfolio manager in 1993. Geoff is a graduate of the University of Texas and has an MBA degree from Boston University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designations. Our portfolio managers are supported by our entire team of investment professionals in nine worldwide offices. The team employs a proprietary investment process to build better insights for our clients. The core principles of our approach are integrated research, global collaboration and active risk management.
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
May 26, 2006
16.02
16.0%
Richard R. Gable, CFA, is an investment officer and equity portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management® (MFS®). Rick covers the real estate sector and manages the firm's real estate investment trust portfolios. Rick joined MFS in 2011. Previously, he was a managing director and portfolio manager for 13 years for Sun Capital Advisers, a division of Sun Life Financial. While at Sun Capital, he managed several MFS real estate investment trust portfolios through a sub-advisory relationship between MFS and Sun Capital. He also served as an analyst for Mellon Bank for 4 years. He has worked in t
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
May 26, 2006
16.02
16.0%
Matthew W. Ryan, CFA, is an investment officer and a portfolio manager of Massachusetts Financial Services Company. Before joining the firm in 1997, Matt worked for four years as an economist at the International Monetary Fund and for five years as an international economist with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He was named a portfolio manager at MFS in 1998. He is a graduate of Williams College and earned a master's degree in international economics and foreign policy from Johns Hopkins University. Matt also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Oct 09, 2006
15.65
15.7%
David P. Cole, CFA, is an Investment Officer of MFS Investment Management® (MFS®) and Portfolio Manager at the firm. David employed in the investment area of MFS since 2004 after working for five years as a High Yield Analyst for Franklin Templeton Investments. Prior to this, he served as a financial economist/treasury market analyst for Thomson Financial Services and two years as an economist for Standard and Poor's. David has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Mar 01, 2018
4.25
4.3%
Robert M. Almeida Jr. is an investment officer and institutional portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management® (MFS®). He serves as a member of the US Equity Growth team, participates in the research process and strategy discussions, assesses portfolio risk, customizes portfolios to client objectives and guidelines and manages daily cash flows. He also serves as a portfolio manager on an alternative strategy run by a committee of MFS portfolio managers. Rob joined MFS in 1999 and most recently served as an institutional portfolio manager for the Fixed Income Department from 2007 through 2009. Before joining the firm in 1999, he worked at Putnam Investments, focusing on the firm's efforts in Japan. Rob is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and earned his Master of Science degree in Finance from the Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University. Our portfolio managers are supported by our entire team of investment professionals in nine worldwide offices. The team employs a proprietary investment process to build better insights for our clients. The core principles of our approach are integrated research, global collaboration and active risk management.
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Mar 01, 2018
4.25
4.3%
Michael Skatrud, CFA, is an investment officer and fixed income research analyst at MFS Investment Management (MFS). He is responsible for identifying the most attractive investment opportunities in his assigned coverage universe and he works closely with portfolio managers to ensure ideas are properly positioned within portfolios. Michael joined MFS in 2013 from Columbia Management, where he had worked as a high yield analyst for four years. Previously, he was a senior credit analyst at Oppenheimer Funds, Inc., for two years and spent seven years as a corporate bond analyst at Putnam Investments. He began his career in the financial services industry in 1996. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. He is a CFA charter holder and a member of the CFA Society Boston.
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Sep 01, 2019
2.75
2.8%
Neeraj Arora is an investment officer and fixed income research analyst for MFS Investment Management® (MFS®). He is a member of the portfolio management team for the firm's Strategic Income strategy, responsible for managing the emerging market debt securities within the strategy. He is a member of the firm's emerging market debt team and works closely with MFS' emerging markets debt portfolio management team to identify attractive investment opportunities. Neeraj joined MFS in 2011. He was previously a vice president and research analyst at J.P. Morgan. He added portfolio management responsibilities in 2018. He earned a bachelor's degree from Marquette University and holds a Master's of Business Administration from Georgetown University.
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Jun 15, 2021
0.96
1.0%
Henry Peabody, CFA - Investment Officer - Fixed Income Portfolio Manager - As a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, responsible for final buy and sell decisions, portfolio construction, risk assessment and cash management. Participates in the research process and strategy discussions. - Joined MFS in 2019 - Previous experience includes 6 years as Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst at Eaton Vance Management; 3 years as Vice President, Research Analyst at Merganser Capital Management; 6 years as Research Analyst and Trader at Emerson Investment Management. - Member of several portfolio management teams, primarily focused on US credit investing in core, core plus, global aggregate, global aggregate opportunistic and global credit strategies - Affiliations include Boston Security Analyst's Society, CFA Institute - Boston College, Carroll School of Management, Master of Business Administration - Trinity College, Bachelor of Arts
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Jun 15, 2021
0.96
1.0%
Alexander M. Mackey, CFA, is an investment officer and fixed income portfolio manager with MFS Investment Management(r) (MFS(r)). He has portfolio management responsibilities on the firm's limited duration and multi-sector fixed income strategies. He also has research analyst responsibilities. Alexander joined MFS in 1998 as a financial control assistant and was promoted to section manager in 2000. He joined the Fixed Income Department as a research associate in 2001 was promoted to fixed income research analyst in 2004. He took on portfolio management responsibilities in 2017. Alexander has a bachelor's degree from Trinity College and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He is a member of the CFA Society of Boston.
Category Low | Category High | Category Average | Category Mode |
---|---|---|---|
0.09 | 28.73 | 6.35 | 2.41 |
Dividend Investing Ideas Center
Have you ever wished for the safety of bonds, but the return potential...
Dividend Investing Ideas Center
If you are reaching retirement age, there is a good chance that you...
Dividend Investing Ideas Center
If you are reaching retirement age, there is a good chance that you...