August Commentary
BLNDX/REMIX

The Standpoint Multi-Asset Fund seeks positive absolute returns. To achieve that Standpoint strives to help mitigate investor loss during hostile market conditions and participate in the upside of equity markets.

Under the Hood: Performance

BLNDX vs. Global EquitiesDec 2019 - Aug 2023
Performance
BLNDXGlobal Equities
August Return-1.23%-2.35%
YTD Return3.81%16.54%
Annualized Return*11.75%8.94%
1-Year Return2.75%16.21%
Annualized 3-Year Return11.97%8.93%
Annualized Volatility*11.54%20.31%
Max Decline-9.33%-33.99%
Sharpe0.860.35
Beta0.341.00

As of 08/31/2023

Fund Inception: Dec 30, 2019

*Since Inception

Performance data shown represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value 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. To obtain the most recent month end performance information please call (866) 738-1128.

Highlights

  • The ability to help mitigate losses is often expected from an alternative investment. BLNDX had positive returns in March 2020 and in 2022, periods of time when equities had negative returns.
  • Alternative investments shouldn’t drag down the performance of the overall portfolio. BLNDX ended 2020 with a 16.3% return, 2021 with a 20.1% return, and 2022 with a positive 3.7% return.
  • An all-weather approach to investing that combines returns from equities, commodities, fixed income, and currencies across geographic regions.

Under the Hood: Portfolio

August 2023

Biggest Winners

Short U.S. bonds, Japanese yen, and aluminum.

Biggest Losers

Long U.S. equities, European equities, and the euro (currency).

New Positions

Opened long positions in crude oil, heating oil, and gas oil. Opened short positions in Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, corn, coffee, wheat, Hong Kong and Singapore equities. 

Closed Positions

Closed long positions in Japanese and Italian government bonds, and the Canadian dollar. 

Current Portfolio Exposure

Long U.S. and global equities, short U.S. and European government bonds, long energy markets not related to natural gas.

A Note from Our CIO 

BLNDX was -1.23% in August, leaving the fund +3.81% year to date in 2023.   

The current financial landscape presents a lot of challenges and opportunities that we are actively navigating. 

Bond Market Dynamics: Both the U.S. and European bond sectors have experienced recent strain, with interest rates on an upward trajectory once again. The yield curve is more inverted than at any time in my 27-year career. Many investors are likely to be lured in by current yields, but I will not be surprised if the cost of capital moves significantly higher going forward. We are meaningfully short global bonds.    

Energy Markets & Commodities: Overall energy prices have been strong, while it’s been a mixed bag in other commodities. Staples like corn and wheat are under pressure, but other agricultural products such as cocoa, sugar, cattle, and soybeans have been resilient. We like to see this kind of regional and sector diversification and have moderate exposures to these markets that align with their recent trends.

Equity Markets: While U.S. and European stocks maintain a seemingly firm footing, there's a contrasting trend developing in Asian equities, particularly in regions like China and Singapore. We are meaningfully long U.S., European, and Japanese equities, while modestly short some of the smaller Asian markets. 

Looking Ahead: The current market environment has plenty of red flags and in some ways is reminiscent of stagflationary periods of the past. The concurrent downtrend of stocks and bonds that we observed last year may have been just the first inning of a long and challenging environment. However, the flexible nature of our multi-asset fund allows us to pursue diversifying opportunities and to manage our risk exposures according to changing market dynamics. 

Investment Universe

Markets traded may include, but are not limited to the following:

Fixed Income

  • 10-Year Australian Govt Bond
  • 3-Year Australian Govt Bond
  • 5-Year U.S. T-Note
  • 2-Year U.S. T-Note
  • 10-Year U.S. T-Note Schatz
  • Euro German Bobl
  • Euro German Bund
  • Long Gilt
  • Canada 10-Year Govt Bond
  • 10-Year Japanese Govt Bond
  • Long-Term Italian Govt Bond
  • Euro-OAT
  • Euro Buxl
  • U.S. T-Bond
  • Ultra 10-Year U.S. T-Note
  • Ultra T-Bonds
  • Eurodollar
  • 3-Month EURIBOR
  • Canadian Bankers Acceptance
  • 3-Month Euro Swiss Franc
  • 3-Month Sterling

Equities

  • Diversified universe of global equity ETFs
  • e-mini S&P 500 Index
  • Euro STOXX 50 Index
  • FTSE 100 Index
  • Topix
  • Hang Seng Index
  • Nikkei 225 Index
  • S&P Canada 60
  • MSCI Singapore
  • CBOE Volatility Index
  • SPI 200 Index

Currencies

  • British Pound
  • United States Dollar
  • Canadian Dollar
  • Euro
  • Japanese Yen
  • Mexican Peso
  • Australian Dollar
  • New Zealand Dollar
  • Swiss Franc

Industrial Commodities

  • Gold
  • Copper (COMEX)
  • Aluminum
  • Nickel
  • Copper (LME)
  • Zinc
  • Platinum
  • Silver
  • WTI Crude Oil
  • Brent Crude
  • ECX EUA Emissions
  • Gas Oil
  • Crude Oil
  • NY Harbor ULSD
  • Henry Hub Natural Gas
  • Gasoline RBOB

Agricultural Commodities

  • Soybean Oil
  • Corn
  • Soybeans
  • Soybean Meal
  • Wheat
  • Milling Wheat
  • KC Wheat
  • Canola
  • Feeder Cattle
  • Live Cattle
  • Lean Hogs
  • Cocoa
  • Coffee
  • Sugar #11
  • Cotton #2
  • Robusta Coffee
  • London Cocoa
  • White Sugar (#5)
Standardized Performance
Year to Date1-YearSince Inception
BLNDX4.88%3.05%12.68%
REMIX4.82%2.86%12.42%
50% MSCI World Index & 50% BAML 3-Month Index8.85%11.38%5.50%
50% MSCI World Index & 50% SG Trend Index7.78%9.00%11.12%

As of 06/30/2023

Inception Date: December 30, 2019

Performance data shown represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value 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. To obtain the most recent month end performance information please call (866) 738-1128.

Share Classes
BLNDXREMIX
Share ClassInstitutionalInvestor
Minimum Investment$25,000$2,500
Net Expense Ratio1.30%1.55%
Gross Expense Ratio1.52%1.77%
  • Fund Inception: December 30, 2019
  • Dividend Frequency: Annually
  • Morningstar Category: Macro Trading

The Fund’s adviser contractually has agreed to waive its management fee and/or reimburse expenses so that total annual Fund operating expenses, excluding portfolio transaction and other investment-related costs (including brokerage fees and commissions); taxes; borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expenses on securities sold short); acquired fund fees and expenses; fees and expenses associated with investments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example option and swap fees and expenses); any amounts payable pursuant to a distribution or service plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940; any administrative and/or shareholder servicing fees payable pursuant to a plan adopted by the Board of Trustees; expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization; extraordinary expenses (such incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business, do not exceed 1.24% through February 28, 2024.

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Important Risk Information

Performance data shown represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value 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. To obtain the most recent month end performance information please call (866) 738-1128.

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve its investment objective.

Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.

For the period since the Fund’s inception on 12/30/19 to 6/30/23, the Fund (BLNDX) returned 12.68% and the Fund’s primary benchmark (50% MSCI World/50% BAML 3-month T-Bill) returned 5.50%. The 1-year return for BLNDX as of 6/30/2023 is 3.05% and 11.38% for the Fund’s primary benchmark.

Investing in underlying investment companies, including money market funds and ETFs, exposes the Fund to the investment performance (positive or negative) and risks of the investment companies. ETFs are subject to additional risks, including the risk that an ETFs shares may trade at a market price that is above or below its NAV. The Fund will indirectly bear a portion of the fees and expenses of the underlying fund in which it invests, which are in addition to the Fund’s own direct fees and expenses.

Investment in the Fund carries certain risks. The fund will invest a percentage of its assets in derivatives, such as futures and commodities. The use of such derivatives and the resulting high portfolio turnover may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities and commodities underlying those derivatives. The Fund may experience losses that exceed those experienced by funds that do not use futures contracts. The successful use of futures contracts draws upon the Adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and are subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the forward or futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a forward or futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired;(c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with US investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social, and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards.

The BAML 3-Month Index tracks the performance of the U.S. dollar denominated U.S. Treasury Bills publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market with a remaining term to final maturity of less than 3 months. Global equities are represented by the MSCI World Total Return Index which captures large and mid-cap representation across 23 Developed Markets countries. The SG Trend Index is designed to track the 10 largest (by AUM) trend following CTAs and be representative of the trend followers in the managed futures space. Comparisons to indexes have limitations because the results do not represent actual trading. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect any fees or expenses associated with the active management of an actual portfolio. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only and will change over time.

Definitions:

Annualized Volatility is the annualized statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given investment. Beta is a measure of an investment's sensitivity to market movements. Max Decline is the peak-to-trough decline during a specific period. Sharpe is the ratio which measures risk-adjusted performance.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risk, charges, and expenses of the Fund. This and other important information about the Fund is contained in the prospectus, which can be obtained by calling (866) 738-1128 or at standpointfunds.com. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. The Standpoint Multi-Asset Fund is distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC.

17354464-UFD-09/08/2023