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...
Morningstar Alternatives Fund
mutual fund
MSTVX
Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$10.69
+0.01
+0.09%
primary theme
N/A
share class
MSTVX (Mutual Fund)
Morningstar Alternatives Fund
MSTVX (Mutual Fund)
Morningstar Alternatives Fund
Payout Change
Pending
Price as of:
$10.69
+0.01
+0.09%
primary theme
N/A
share class
Name
As of 12/11/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.
Exp Ratio
Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.
Watchlist
Vitals
YTD Return
7.0%
1 yr return
8.1%
3 Yr Avg Return
3.3%
5 Yr Avg Return
3.6%
Net Assets
$228 M
Holdings in Top 10
26.2%
52 WEEK LOW AND HIGH
$10.7
N/A
N/A
Expenses
OPERATING FEES
Expense Ratio 1.59%
SALES FEES
Front Load N/A
Deferred Load N/A
TRADING FEES
Turnover N/A
Redemption Fee N/A
Min Investment
Standard (Taxable)
$0
IRA
N/A
Fund Classification
Fund Type
Open End Mutual Fund
Name
As of 12/11/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.
Exp Ratio
Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.
Watchlist
MSTVX - Profile
Distributions
- YTD Total Return 7.0%
- 3 Yr Annualized Total Return 3.3%
- 5 Yr Annualized Total Return 3.6%
- Capital Gain Distribution Frequency N/A
- Net Income Ratio 1.14%
- Dividend Yield 3.6%
- Dividend Distribution Frequency Annual
Fund Details
-
Legal NameMorningstar Alternatives Fund
-
Fund Family NameMorningstar
-
Inception DateNov 02, 2018
-
Shares OutstandingN/A
-
Share ClassInstl
-
CurrencyUSD
-
Domiciled CountryUS
-
ManagerAlexander Volz
Fund Description
In seeking long-term capital appreciation and low sensitivity to traditional U.S. asset classes, the Fund allocates assets to strategies that provide alternative sources of return including those described below. The Fund will normally invest in both U.S. and non-U.S. securities, including securities of companies located in emerging markets. The Fund may invest in non-U.S. dollar denominated investments, including investments denominated in European and Asian currencies and in other non-U.S. and emerging market currencies. The Fund may also seek returns through core allocation across fixed income and equity markets. The Fund may use quantitative models to evaluate and select debt securities based on certain shared characteristics as determined by the Fund’s subadviser.
In particular, the Fund has the latitude to invest in the following alternative strategies:
Long-Short Equity—Combines long equity positions with short equity positions (selling borrowed securities). Since the strategy is both long and short, total net exposure is typically less than 100%.
Convertible Arbitrage—Includes the purchase of convertible securities and the sale of the underlying common stock. These securities tend to be convertible bonds or convertible preferred stocks that may be converted into the stock of the same company.
Merger Arbitrage—Seeks to profit from the successful completion of corporate re-organizations. The process typically involves purchasing shares of an announced acquisition target company at a discount to its expected value upon completion of the acquisition. Hedging strategies may be used to reduce market exposure and volatility.
Credit Arbitrage—Seeks to exploit the mispricing of different classes of securities that are usually of the same company, and may include investments in investment-grade and/or non-investment-grade corporate debt (otherwise known as junk bonds), credit derivatives, loans, equities, credit index securities, and private debt.
Global Macro—Establishes long (number of contracts bought exceeds number sold) with a short (number of contracts sold exceeds number bought) exposures around the globe to take advantage of what the subadvisers
believe to be attractive opportunities. This strategy may include investments in fixed-income and equity securities and a wide variety of derivative instruments. Such investments will likely have significant exposure to foreign investments and may be concentrated in a geographic region or country.
Hedged Equity—Seeks to limit investment loss by creating a transaction that offsets an existing position in a contract that provides the right to buy or sell shares of a security at a specific price for a certain time. Specifically, this strategy attempts to reduce the systematic risk created by factors such as exposures to sectors, market-cap ranges, investment styles, currencies, and/or countries; the strategy strives to achieve this by matching short positions within each area against long positions. This strategy may be managed as beta-neutral, dollar-neutral, or sector-neutral in order to achieve low beta exposures to certain market indexes.
Market Neutral—Attempts to significantly reduce the systematic risk created by factors such as exposures to sectors, market-cap ranges, investment styles, currencies, and/or countries. This strategy seeks to achieve this by matching short positions within each area against long positions, and the strategy may be managed as beta-neutral, dollar-neutral, or sector-neutral. In attempting to significantly reduce systematic risk, issue selection may be emphasized, with profits dependent on the ability to sell short and buy long the chosen securities.
Nontraditional Bond—Pursues strategies that diverge in one or more ways from conventional practice in the broader bond-fund universe. In pursuing this strategy, the Fund may seek to avoid losses and produce returns uncorrelated with the overall bond market and may employ a variety of methods to achieve those aims, including investing tactically across a wide swath of individual sectors, including high-yield and foreign debt.
Debt Securities—Investment in debt securities may include U.S. Government and agency securities, foreign government and supranational debt securities, corporate bonds, mortgage-related securities and asset-backed securities, mortgage to-be-announced (“TBA”) securities, emerging market debt securities, preferred securities, structured products, credit-linked notes, mezzanine securities, senior secured floating rate and fixed rate loans or debt, second lien or other subordinated or unsecured floating rate and fixed rate loans or debt, convertible debt securities, and derivatives with similar economic characteristics. These debt securities may be of any credit quality, which may include investment grade securities and high yield securities, including unrated securities (commonly called “junk bonds”). The Fund may invest in fixed, variable and floating rate instruments, including participations and assignments, of any duration or maturity.
Equity Securities—Investment in equity securities may include common stock, preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock, including contingent convertible bonds which are securities convertible into equity if a pre-specified trigger event occurs, and non-convertible preferred stock.
Derivatives—Exposure to equity securities may be done through derivatives which at times may be significant. Types of derivatives include, but are not limited to, swaps, (including total return some of which may be referred to as contracts for difference), credit default, index and interest rate swaps; options; forward contracts; futures; options on futures and swaps; and foreign exchange transactions, for hedging purposes, as well as to enhance returns. Use of derivatives may be to maintain a portion of its portfolio long and short positions. Investments in indexed and inverse securities may also be made to provide a potential return based on a particular index of value or interest rates. This strategy may also include investments in repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls.
Short Sales—Short sales may be used for hedging purposes or to enhance total return. Short sales “against the box” may also be used. In this type of short sale, at the time of the sale, the Fund owns or has the immediate and unconditional right to acquire the identical security at no additional cost.
Currency—The Fund may invest in non-U.S. dollar denominated investments, including investments denominated in European and Asian currencies and in other non-U.S. and emerging market currencies. As a result, the
Fund may have significant exposure to foreign currencies and investments in non-U.S. dollar-based assets may be made on a currency hedged or unhedged basis.
To meet its objective, the Fund may invest in investment companies such as mutual funds and ETFs, which could represent a significant percentage of assets.
Multimanager Approach—The Fund uses a multimanager approach, meaning the adviser may allocate assets to one or more subadvisers, in addition to open- and closed-end investment companies, ETFs, and individual securities (collectively “Allocation Decisions”). The adviser and each subadviser acts independently from the others and uses its own investment style and process to select securities, within the constraints of the Fund’s investment objective, strategies, and restrictions. Morningstar is responsible for selecting the investment strategies and making Allocation Decisions, with the goal of maximizing return in the context of pursuing the Fund’s investment objective with a prudent level of risk for the strategy. Morningstar may change subadvisers, subject to the oversight of the board of trustees, and sell holdings at any time.
The nature of the strategies in this Fund is to engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities which may result in higher portfolio turnover. Turnover is mainly driven by a few strategies employed to help manage duration and curve risk.
MSTVX - Performance
Return Ranking - Trailing
| Period | MSTVX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YTD | 7.0% | -73.0% | 19.4% | 58.06% |
| 1 Yr | 8.1% | -9.1% | 86.9% | 49.82% |
| 3 Yr | 3.3%* | -9.5% | 16.2% | N/A |
| 5 Yr | 3.6%* | -4.9% | 14.4% | N/A |
| 10 Yr | N/A* | -0.9% | 7.5% | N/A |
* Annualized
Return Ranking - Calendar
| Period | MSTVX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2.8% | -22.7% | 305.1% | 60.37% |
| 2022 | -6.4% | -9.8% | 27.3% | 58.87% |
| 2021 | -0.8% | -20.8% | 10.9% | N/A |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -12.4% | 29.4% | N/A |
| 2019 | 4.0% | -10.5% | 15.8% | N/A |
Total Return Ranking - Trailing
| Period | MSTVX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YTD | 7.0% | -73.0% | 19.4% | 58.06% |
| 1 Yr | 8.1% | -13.4% | 86.9% | 45.82% |
| 3 Yr | 3.3%* | -9.5% | 16.2% | N/A |
| 5 Yr | 3.6%* | -5.3% | 14.4% | N/A |
| 10 Yr | N/A* | -0.9% | 7.5% | N/A |
* Annualized
Total Return Ranking - Calendar
| Period | MSTVX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6.8% | -22.7% | 305.1% | 60.37% |
| 2022 | -2.7% | -9.8% | 27.3% | 60.08% |
| 2021 | 2.8% | -20.8% | 10.9% | N/A |
| 2020 | 3.8% | -8.4% | 29.4% | N/A |
| 2019 | 6.1% | -10.2% | 18.0% | N/A |
NAV & Total Return History
MSTVX - Holdings
Concentration Analysis
| MSTVX | Category Low | Category High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Assets | 228 M | 1.5 M | 5.01 B | 39.48% |
| Number of Holdings | 2292 | 4 | 4478 | 4.95% |
| Net Assets in Top 10 | 59.3 M | -398 M | 2.55 B | 60.42% |
| Weighting of Top 10 | 26.21% | 13.1% | 100.0% | 88.53% |
Top 10 Holdings
- SEP 24 US 2YR SEP 24 9.44%
- Northern Inst Fds TREAS PRT PRMR 4.47%
- FUT. CBT 5Y T-NOTE SEP24 2.62%
- FUT. CBT UL T-BONDS SEP24 1.81%
- Hess Corporation COM USD1.00 1.70%
- Amedisys Inc COM USD0.001 1.55%
- Axonics Inc COM USD0.0001 1.33%
- Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings Inc COM 1.16%
- Juniper Networks, Inc. COM USD0.00001 1.07%
- Hashicorp Inc COM CL A 1.05%
Asset Allocation
| Weighting | Return Low | Return High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonds | 62.14% | -326.45% | 6347.80% | 37.81% |
| Convertible Bonds | 24.74% | 0.00% | 87.92% | 2.12% |
| Other | 19.46% | -21.53% | 148.54% | 91.87% |
| Stocks | 10.30% | -3.75% | 97.95% | 80.57% |
| Cash | 5.40% | -6278.21% | 410.43% | 42.05% |
| Preferred Stocks | 2.71% | -0.12% | 46.97% | 6.71% |
Stock Sector Breakdown
| Weighting | Return Low | Return High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 20.68% | 0.00% | 39.58% | 30.71% |
| Healthcare | 13.53% | 0.00% | 45.63% | 21.65% |
| Industrials | 11.91% | 0.00% | 21.45% | 5.91% |
| Consumer Cyclical | 11.63% | 0.00% | 29.09% | 33.46% |
| Financial Services | 8.14% | 0.00% | 59.28% | 83.46% |
| Communication Services | 8.05% | 0.00% | 21.78% | 83.86% |
| Energy | 7.26% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 27.95% |
| Utilities | 5.30% | 0.00% | 9.23% | 20.08% |
| Consumer Defense | 5.22% | 0.00% | 13.62% | 52.36% |
| Real Estate | 5.17% | 0.00% | 51.26% | 53.54% |
| Basic Materials | 3.10% | 0.00% | 27.46% | 50.00% |
Stock Geographic Breakdown
| Weighting | Return Low | Return High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | 9.74% | -8.85% | 91.88% | 74.91% |
| Non US | 0.56% | -19.62% | 42.11% | 70.32% |
Bond Sector Breakdown
| Weighting | Return Low | Return High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate | 43.88% | 0.00% | 87.73% | 9.19% |
| Securitized | 25.58% | 0.00% | 56.83% | 15.55% |
| Derivative | 10.50% | 0.00% | 88.81% | 92.23% |
| Cash & Equivalents | 5.02% | 0.27% | 100.00% | 63.96% |
| Government | 2.94% | 0.00% | 84.29% | 64.66% |
| Municipal | 0.00% | 0.00% | 27.33% | 68.20% |
Bond Geographic Breakdown
| Weighting | Return Low | Return High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | 62.14% | -126.19% | 6311.18% | 30.04% |
| Non US | 0.00% | -382.37% | 121.02% | 51.94% |
MSTVX - Expenses
Operational Fees
| MSTVX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expense Ratio | 1.59% | 0.29% | 31.15% | 69.06% |
| Management Fee | 0.85% | 0.00% | 2.50% | 38.87% |
| 12b-1 Fee | N/A | 0.00% | 1.00% | N/A |
| Administrative Fee | N/A | 0.01% | 0.30% | N/A |
Sales Fees
| MSTVX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front Load | N/A | 2.50% | 5.75% | N/A |
| Deferred Load | N/A | 1.00% | 5.00% | N/A |
Trading Fees
| MSTVX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Redemption Fee | N/A | 1.00% | 2.00% | N/A |
Related Fees
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.
| MSTVX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | N/A | 0.00% | 491.00% | 48.30% |
MSTVX - Distributions
Dividend Yield Analysis
| MSTVX | Category Low | Category High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 3.61% | 0.00% | 4.56% | 60.42% |
Dividend Distribution Analysis
| MSTVX | Category Low | Category High | Category Mod | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Distribution Frequency | Annual | Annually | Quarterly | Annually |
Net Income Ratio Analysis
| MSTVX | Category Low | Category High | MSTVX % Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Income Ratio | 1.14% | -2.51% | 6.83% | 8.99% |
Capital Gain Distribution Analysis
| MSTVX | Category Low | Category High | Capital Mode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Gain Distribution Frequency | Annually | Annually | Annually |
Distributions History
| Date | Amount | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 28, 2023 | $0.386 | OrdinaryDividend |
| Dec 29, 2022 | $0.204 | OrdinaryDividend |
| Dec 16, 2022 | $0.171 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
| Dec 16, 2022 | $0.006 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
| Dec 17, 2021 | $0.287 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
| Dec 17, 2021 | $0.094 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
| Dec 30, 2020 | $0.127 | OrdinaryDividend |
| Dec 18, 2020 | $0.147 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
| Dec 18, 2020 | $0.031 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
| Dec 30, 2019 | $0.144 | OrdinaryDividend |
| Dec 20, 2019 | $0.035 | CapitalGainShortTerm |
| Dec 20, 2019 | $0.001 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
| Dec 31, 2018 | $0.025 | OrdinaryDividend |
MSTVX - Fund Manager Analysis
Managers
Alexander Volz
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Nov 02, 2018
3.58
3.6%
Alexander W. Volz. Mr. Volz has been a Portfolio Manager and Convertible Trader of SSI Investment Management, Inc. since 2006 and was a Vice President and Convertible Trader for SSI Investment Management, Inc. from 2002 to 2006. Mr. Volz has 20 years of experience in portfolio management and/or convertible securities trading. Prior to joining SSI Investment Management, Inc., Mr. Volz was a Convertible Trader for Southern Trading Partners and Wachovia Securities from 1997 to 2002. Mr. Volz received a B.A., Economics from Vanderbilt University in 1996.
Marta Norton
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Nov 02, 2018
3.58
3.6%
Marta Norton is a portfolio manager for Morningstar’s Investment Management group. She leads the group’s U.S. outcome-based strategies team, which focuses on inflation-plus, cash-plus, and income investment strategies. Previously, Norton was an investment manager for Morningstar Investment Services, where she managed asset allocation, income, and absolute return strategies. Before that, she was a senior mutual fund analyst for Morningstar, Inc. and led Morningstar’s 529 college-savings plan coverage. Before joining Morningstar in 2005, Norton was an economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a research analyst for LECG, LLC. Norton holds a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College. She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Dagney Maseda
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Nov 02, 2018
3.58
3.6%
Dagney Hollander is a portfolio manager at SSI and oversees the daily management of the Hedged Convertible investment portfolios. Her industry experience as a trading assistant, analyst and portfolio manager began since 2003. She received a BS in Finance, summa cum laude, from California State University, Northridge. She is a CFA Level III Candidate.
John Orrico
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Nov 02, 2018
3.58
3.6%
Mr. Orrico founded Water Island Capital, the advisor to The Arbitrage Funds, in 2000. He currently serves as Chairman of The Arbitrage Funds series trust and Chief Investment Officer of the firm. Prior to founding Water Island Capital, Mr. Orrico directed arbitrage, special situations, and distressed hedge fund portfolios at Lindemann Capital, which he joined in 1999, in conjunction with starting the organizational process for the Arbitrage Fund. Prior to joining Lindemann Capital, Mr. Orrico joined Gruss & Co in 1994, focusing on merger arbitrage and special situations, and became Senior Arbitrage Analyst in 1996. Mr. Orrico has worked in the securities industry since joining Morgan Stanley in 1982, beginning in corporate finance, with additional experience in institutional equity trading, equity research analysis and portfolio management. Mr. Orrico received a BA from Georgetown University.
Todd Munn
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Nov 02, 2018
3.58
3.6%
Munn is a portfolio manager of Water Island Capital, LLC. Prior to becoming a portfolio manager of the Fund, Mr. Munn was a senior equity analyst for the Fund. Mr. Munn received a Master of Business Administration degree from Fordham Graduate School of Business in 2003 and a Bachelors degree from Gettysburg College in 1993 — with a double major in Finance and Accounting.
Roger Foltynowicz
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Nov 02, 2018
3.58
3.6%
Roger Foltynowicz, CAIA, received a Master of Science degree from Pace University in 2006 – with a major in Investment Management – and a Bachelor's degree from Presbyterian College in 1999 – with a major in Business Administration.
Jeffrey Rosenberg
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Jun 30, 2020
1.92
1.9%
Jeffrey Rosenberg, CFA. Jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio since 2018, including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2011; Chief Fixed Income Strategist and member of the BlackRock Investment Institute since 2016; Chief Investment Strategist for Fundamental Fixed Income at BlackRock since 2011; Chief Credit Strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 2002 to 2011.
Scott Radell
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Jun 30, 2020
1.92
1.9%
Scott Radell has been employed as managing director and portfolio manager with BlackRock Investment Management LLC and BlackRock Financial Advisers (formerly, Barclays Global Fund Advisors) and its predecessors since 2009. Mr. Radell served as a portfolio manager at Barclays Global Fund Advisors and its affiliates since 2004. Radell was a credit strategist from 2003 to 2004 before becoming a CoreAlpha Bond Portfolio Manager and prior to that he was employed by Morgan Stanley Asset Management as a credit analyst from 1996 to 2003.
Tom Parker
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Jun 30, 2020
1.92
1.9%
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009; Chief Investment Officer of BlackRock’s Systematic Fixed Income Group since 2015;Deputy Chief Investment Officer of BlackRock’s Model-Based Fixed Income Portfolio Management Group since 2010; Co-Head of Credit Investments and Member of the Fixed Income Research Approval Committee of Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”) from 2001 to 2009.
Ricky Williamson
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Dec 30, 2020
1.42
1.4%
Ricky Williamson is a portfolio manager within Morningstar Investment Management. He is focused on portfolio construction, asset allocation, and manager due diligence. Williamson is also a member of Investment Management’s Global Asset Allocation team, focusing on emerging-market debt as well as general fixed-income research. He develops and implements asset-class positioning and fund-of-funds portfolios, evaluates investment managers, and performs capital-market research. He currently serves as a co-manager for three Morningstar mutual funds: Morningstar Total Return Bond Fund, Morningstar Municipal Bond Fund, and Morningstar Multisector Bond Fund. Prior to joining Morningstar Investment Management in 2013, Williamson was a consultant and analyst with Cardinal Investment Advisors, LLC., where he built asset-allocation models for defined-benefit plans, performed manager due diligence, and worked on capital-market research. Williamson holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from the University of Virginia. He also holds a Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement and the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Tenure Analysis
| Category Low | Category High | Category Average | Category Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.02 | 17.37 | 4.48 | 1.67 |
