Let’s Make Music: Why ATRFX Can Be a Sweet Symphony of Asset Classes

Learn How Through Allocations to Four Different Asset Classes, the Catalyst Systematic Alpha Fund (ATRFX) Has Found Its Way to the Top 1% of its Morningstar Category

While the individual parts of an orchestra such as the trumpet, violin, and cello are all enjoyable to listen to on their own, it’s undeniable that when you put them together under a composer like Beethoven, the results can be outstanding.

Think of the Catalyst Systematic Alpha Fund (ATRFX) as our Beethoven for asset classes – an elite composer of the investing world that allocates across stocks, bonds, commodities, and currencies. Investing in any one of those asset classes can produce returns for investors, but allocating to all four through ATRFX can allow different stars to shine depending on the market environment. So far, we’ve been happy with the results that this Fund has delivered.

Here’s how ATRFX has performed versus individual asset class indices over the past five years:

ATRFX vs. Equities, Bonds, Currencies, & Commodities

Growth of $10k

Source: Catalyst Capital Advisors, YCharts, & Bloomberg LP. Data from 07/31/2018 to 07/31/2023.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

ATRFX has also outperformed a traditional investment composer, the 60/40 portfolio, and the Morningstar Multistrategy Category through multiple time periods

Source: Catalyst Capital Advisors, Bloomberg LP, and Morningstar. Data from 06/30/2018 to 06/30/2023. 60/40 Portfolio represented by 60% allocation to the S&P 500 TR Index and 40% allocation to the Bloomberg Agg TR Index (rebalanced monthly). Investments cannot be made in an index. Performance is historic and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with changing market conditions so that when redeemed, shares 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 the Fund, toll free at 1-866-447-4228 or visit www.CatalystMF.com.

How Each Asset Class Contributes to ATRFX’s Approach

The below graphic outlines how each asset class contributes during different periods of rising/falling growth and inflation by utilizing an offensive and defensive approach.

Catalyst and BNP Paribas: The Co-Composers of ATRFX

Catalyst Funds has partnered with the Quantitative Investment Team at BNP Paribas to create the BNP Paribas Catalyst Systematic Alpha Index II, offering a diversified investment approach that includes fixed income investments (long and short), currencies (long and short), equities (long and short), and commodities (long and short). The Catalyst Systematic Alpha Fund (ATRFX) tracks this index, providing investors access to this sought after, systematic approach.

The results of this strategy over the past three and five years have been:

  • A number one percentile rank in the Morningstar Multi-Strategy Category, based on risk adjusted returns for the 3 and 5-year periods, out of 126 and 107 funds, respectively (as of June 30, 2023).
  • ATRFX has also earned a 5-Star Overall Rating for the 3-year period, based on risk adjusted returns, out of 126 funds in the Multi-Strategy Category (as of June 30, 2023).

As outlined above, when compared to the S&P 500, Bloomberg Agg, and its Morningstar Category, investors in ATRFX have reaped benefits above passive investors.

Summary and Key Characteristics:

  1. ATRFX allocates to four asset classes: equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities. The strategy seeks to maintain a diversified exposure to the selected asset classes and to generate positive risk-adjusted returns with low correlation to the broad markets, allowing investors to achieve true diversification.
  2. Through ATRFX, Catalyst Funds has partnered with BNP Paribas to gain exclusive access to a portfolio of BNP Paribas Quantitative Investment Strategies, which were previously only accessible to institutional investors.
  3. ATRFX was the #1 fund out of 130 for the best 1-year total return in the Morningstar Multistrategy Category as of 6/30/2023.
  4. ATRFX received a 5-star rating from Morningstar for the period ending 6/30/23 based on 5-year risk adjusted returns out of 107 funds in the Multistrategy Category.

Data as of quarter end: 2024-03-31T00:00:00
Annualized if greater than a year

Share Class 1 Month 3 Months 6 Months YTD 1 Year 3 Years Annualized 5 Years Annualized 10 Years Annualized Since Inception Annualized
Class I 6.46% 11.37% 16.46% 11.37% 26.86% 16.47% 17.51% N/A 7.35%
Class A 6.54% 11.29% 16.30% 11.29% 26.42% 16.24% 17.25% N/A 7.15%
Class C 6.46% 11.13% 15.94% 11.13% 25.69% 15.36% 16.38% N/A 6.32%
Class A w/Sales Load 0.42% 4.88% 9.61% 4.88% 19.13% 13.97% 15.86% N/A 6.49%

*The advisor has contractually agreed to waive management fees and/or reimburse expenses of the Fund to the extent necessary to limit total annual fund operating expenses (excluding brokerage costs; acquired fund fees and expenses; borrowing costs such as (a) interest and (b) dividends on securities sold short; taxes and, extraordinary expenses, such as regulatory inquiry and litigation expenses), through October 31, 2023. 

Performance is historic and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with changing market conditions so that when redeemed, shares 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 the Fund, toll free at 1-866-447-4228 or visit www.CatalystMF.com.

The Fund’s maximum sales charge for Class “A” shares is 5.75%. Investments in mutual funds involve risks.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Catalyst Funds. This and other important information about the Fund can be obtained by calling 866-447-4228. The Catalyst Funds are distributed by Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Catalyst Capital Advisors, LLC is not affiliated with Northern Lights Distributors, LLC.

Risk Considerations:

Investing in the Fund carries certain risks. The Fund will invest a percentage of its assets in derivatives, such as futures and options contracts. 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, options and hedging strategies. Investing in the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. There are risks associated with the sale and purchase of call and put options. Emerging market securities tend to be more volatile and less liquid than securities traded in developed countries. The Fund invests in the securities of foreign companies which are generally not subject to the same regulatory requirements and have different accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards from those applicable to U.S. companies. The performance of the Fund may be subject to substantial short term changes. Because the Fund invests in affiliated underlying funds, unaffiliated underlying funds, or a combination of both, the Advisor is subject to conflicts of interest in allocating the Fund’s assets among the underlying funds. Investments in underlying funds that own small and mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable than larger, more established organizations. Lower quality debt securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Interest rate risk is the risk that bond prices in general fall when interest rates rise. These factors may affect the value of your investment.

BNP Paribas does not sponsor, endorse, sell, or promote any investment fund or other vehicle that is offered by third parties and that seeks to provide an investment return based on the returns of the BNP Paribas catalyst systematic alpha index (the “index”). A decision to invest in any such investment fund or other vehicle should not be made in reliance on any of the statements set forth in this document. Prospective investors are advised to make an investment in any such fund or vehicle only after carefully considering the risks associated with investing in such funds, as detailed in an offering memorandum or similar document that is prepared by or on behalf of the issuer of the investment fund or vehicle. You cannot invest directly in an index and unmanaged index returns do not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges.

The overall, 3-year, and 5-year Morningstar rating for the Fund is 5-stars out of 128, 128, and 107 funds respectively, in the Multistrategy category based on risk adjusted returns. There is no 10-year ranking for the Fund since its inception was 07/31/2014. © 2022 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or “star rating”, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life sub-accounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three year history. Exchange traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance.

The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metric.

In addition to Morningstar ranking the Fund 1st for the 3-year and 5-year periods, out of 126 funds and 107 funds respectively, the fund ranked 1st out of 130 funds, for the one year period and 1st for the overall period out of 126 funds, ending on 6/30/2023, in the Multi-strategy category, based on risk adjusted returns. There is no 10-year ranking for the Fund since its inception was 07/31/2014.

Morningstar Category/Morningstar Category % Rank Investments are placed into Morningstar categories based on their compositions and portfolio statistics so that investors can make meaningful comparisons. Morningstar Category % Rank is a fund’s total-return percentile rank relative to all funds in the same category. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is one and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100. The Category % Rank complements the Morningstar Rating, especially for funds in smaller categories because these funds may have received a 3-star rating but could be in the top half of their category performance.

Alternative investments may not be suitable for all investors and an investment in alternative funds is suitable only for investors who can bear the risks associated with the illiquidity of the fund’s shares and should be viewed as a long-term investment.

Alternative investments may not be suitable for all investors and an investment in alternative funds is suitable only for investors who can bear the risks associated with the illiquidity of the fund’s shares and should be viewed as a long-term investment.

5708-NLD-09/29/2023

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