Investment Strategy
The Aston/Veredus Aggressive Growth Fund employs a momentum-based growth process to select equity securities of small-cap companies it believes (month to month or quarter to quarter) demonstrate consistent, sustainable and sequential positive earnings surprise.
Objective
The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation.
Main Risks
All investments contain risks and investors should consider the risks associated with investing in the Fund. Investments made in small and mid-size capitalization companies are subject to a higher degree of market risk because they tend to be more volatile and less liquid when compared to larger more established companies. Growth investing may be more volatile than other stocks because they are generally more sensitive to investor perceptions and market moves.
Note: Small company stocks may be subject to a higher degree of market risk than the securities of more established companies because they tend to be more volatile and less liquid.
| Fund Overview |
| Inception Date |
6/30/1998 |
| Ticker |
VERDX |
| Cusip |
00078H257 |
| Load |
None |
| Fund Statistics (as of
3/31/2008) |
|
|
$147,901,337.00 |
| Expense Ratio |
1.45% |
| Minimum Investment |
$2,500 |
| Alpha (3 yr.) |
-7.68 |
| Beta (3 yr.) |
1.14 |
| R-Squared (3 yr.) |
0.88 |
| Standard Dev (3 yr.) |
17.91 |
| Sharpe Ratio (3 yr.) |
-0.06 |
|
|
| Sector Breakdown (as of
3/31/2008) |
| Industrials |
27.77% |
| Consumer Discretionary |
25.31% |
| Information Technology |
17.01% |
| Healthcare |
10.90% |
| Energy |
8.19% |
| Materials |
4.69% |
| Cash Equivalents & Other |
2.60% |
| Semiconductors |
2.51% |
| Financials |
1.03% |
*Total Net Assets include N and I Classes
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of mutual funds will vary with market conditions, so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
The strong performance of the Fund was in large part attributable to the Fund's technology holdings. Investors in the Fund should realize that favorable conditions for technology stocks may not continue and may not be repeated in the future.
Expense Ratio. A fund's cost of doing business, expressed as a percentage of its assets and disclosed in a prospectus.
Turnover. The number of shares traded for a period as a percentage of the total shares in a portfolio or of an exchange.
Alpha. Measures the difference between a fund’s actual returns and its expected performance, given its level of risk.
Beta. The measure of risk which shows a fund’s volatility relative to an index.
R-Squared. The percentage of a fund’s movement that can be explained by movements in its benchmark index.
Standard Deviation. A statistical measure of the historical volatility of a mutual fund or portfolio, usually computed using 36 monthly returns. More generally, a measure of the extent to which numbers are spread around their average.
Sharpe Ratio. A risk-adjusted measure used to determine reward per unit of risk.