Investment Strategy
Under normal conditions, the Aston/ABN AMRO Global Real Estate Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and similar non-U.S. vehicles, common stocks and other equity securities of U.S. and foreign companies principally engaged in the real estate sector. The portfolio managers use a combination of a top-down and a bottom-up approach. The Fund is classified as nondiversified.
Top-down approach involves:
- analyzing global demographic and economic trends
reviewing the real estate cycle to identify favorable geographic regions and property types
Bottom-up approach involves analyzing individual companies, focusing on companies
with:
- revenues primarily derived from real estate related activities
a significant portion of revenues from rental income
management stake in performance
a strong balance sheet and/or consistent earnings
internal growth prospects
potential growth from acquisition or development
free cash flow
To manage risk, the portfolio managers limit sector and position size and adhere to a strong sell discipline. The portfolio managers do not expect the Fund’s annual portfolio turnover rate to exceed 100%.
Note: Risks of international investing include but are not limited to social and political instability, market illiquidity and currency volatility. The Fund is non-diversified and may be more susceptible to risk than funds that invest more broadly. Real estate funds may be subject to a higher degree of market risk because of changes in property values of the underlying property and defaults by borrowers.
| Fund Overview |
| Inception Date |
8/3/2007 |
| Ticker |
AGRNX |
| Cusip |
00080Y835 |
| Load |
None |
| Fund Statistics (as of
3/31/2008) |
|
|
$17,779,163.00 |
| Expense Ratio |
1.50% |
| Minimum Investment |
$2,500 |
|
|
| Sector Breakdown (as of
3/31/2008) |
| Diversified |
35.82% |
| Retail |
21.69% |
| Office Properties |
15.99% |
| Industrials |
9.59% |
| Residential |
8.28% |
| Healthcare |
2.65% |
| Cash Equivalents & Other |
2.48% |
| Office |
1.10% |
| Real Estate Investment Trust |
0.91% |
| Financials |
0.65% |
| Self Storage |
0.49% |
| Hotels |
0.36% |
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.
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.