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Total Return Bond Fund

Mutual Funds

Total Return Bond Fund


Fund Managers

Photo of Mark  Montgomery

Mark Montgomery, CFA®

Photo of Peter  Brown

Peter Brown, CFA®

Overview

A
Shares

BICAX

Inception
Date

12.02.1999

Investment
Min.

$1,000

Subsequent
Investment Min.1

N/A

Max. Up Front
Sales Charge

2%

Max. Deferred
Sales Charge

N/A

1If subsequent investments are made as part of an AIP, the minimum is $25.

Philosophy & Process

In managing the fund, the portfolio management team employs a multi-faceted approach to generate excess return and uses a combination of top-down and bottom-up analysis, quantitative vs. qualitative analysis and fundamentals vs. valuation. There is a strong emphasis on risk management and an adherence to certain core investment beliefs:

  • "If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it."
  • Avoid unintended exposures
  • Average duration around 5 to 7 years with focus on high quality and risk management
  • Participate in longer term trends - don't buy on short-term trends or try to time what is going on in the market
  • Attempts to achieve risk-adjusted performance over time

Investment Considerations

The fund is subject to the same risks as the underlying bonds in the portfolio such as credit, prepayment, call and interest rate risk. As interest rates rise the value of bond prices will decline. The fund may invest in more aggressive investments such as foreign securities which may expose the fund to currency and exchange rate fluctuations; derivatives (futures and swaps); mortgage backed securities sensitive to interest rates and high yield debt (also known as junk bonds), all of which may cause greater volatility and less liquidity. Derivatives may be more sensitive to changes in market conditions and may amplify risks.

Fund Facts

Term Class A Shares Class C Shares Class I Shares Class R6 Shares
Ticker BICAXBICCXBIBTXSTRDX
Inception Date 12.02.199902.01.200112.02.199902.01.2018
Investment Min. $1,000$1,000$1,000,000N/A
Subsequent Investment Min.2 N/AN/AN/AN/A
Max. Up Front Sales Charge 2%N/AN/AN/A
Max. Deferred Sales Charge N/A1%N/AN/A

2If subsequent investments are made as part of an AIP, the minimum is $25.

Total Return Bond Fund

Management

View professional designations disclosures

Photo of Mark  Montgomery

Mark Montgomery, CFA®

Co-Portfolio Manager

Photo of Peter  Brown

Peter Brown, CFA®

Co-Portfolio Manager

Performance

Fund Performance as of 12.31.2023

Term QTR YTD 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years Since Inception
A Shares with 2.00% Sales Charge 4.61% 3.56% 3.56% -4.05% 0.96% 1.77% 3.96%
A Shares without Sales Charge 6.73% 5.71% 5.71% -3.41% 1.37% 1.97% 4.04%
Institutional Shares 6.67% 5.86% 5.86% -3.20% 1.60% 2.21% 4.30%
Lipper Core Bond Median 6.77% 5.76% 5.76% -3.44% 1.18% 1.77% N/A

The total expense ratios for Class A, C and I Shares are 0.70%, 1.45% and 0.45%, respectively. The gross expense ratio for Class R6 Shares is 0.45%. The net expense ratio for Class R6 Shares is 0.35%.

The Fund Administrator, Sterling Capital Management LLC, has contractually agreed to waive its administrative fees, pay Fund operating expenses, and/or reimburse the Fund .10% of the Class R6 average daily net assets for the period February 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022. Performance would have been lower without limitations in effect.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. The performance data quoted represents past performance and current returns may be lower or higher. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. To obtain performance information current to the most recent month end, please visit the performance summary.

The performance of the Total Return Bond Fund reflects the deduction of fees for value-added services associated with a mutual fund, such as investment management and fund accounting fees. The inception date for Class A Shares is 12.02.1999. The inception date for Class C Shares is 02.01.2001. The inception date for Class Inst'l Shares is 12.02.1999. The inception date for Class R6 Shares is 02.01.2018. The performance of Class C Shares is adjusted to reflect the 1% contingent deferred sales charge. The performance shown reflects the reinvestment of all dividend and capital gains distributions.

Characteristics

Quality Breakdown as of 12.31.2023

Credit quality ratings using Moody's rating symbols reflect the credit quality of the underlying bonds in the fund portfolio and not of the Fund itself. Moody's assigns a range of ratings from AAA being the highest quality to C being the lowest rated class of bonds. Securities not rated by Moody's may be rated by S&P, Fitch or if no agency rating is available, the Fund will assign a rating of not rated. Bond quality ratings are subject to change.

Effective Duration as of 12.31.2023

Name Value
0-1 Yr. 4.0
1-2 Yr. 3.0
2-3 Yr. 11.0
3-5 Yr. 22.0
5-10 Yr. 46.0
10+ Yr. 12.0

Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to change and risk. Based on Market Value of securities.

Summary Statistics as of 12.31.2023

Name Value
Number of Holdings 336
Average Life 9.00 Years
Effective Duration 6.24 Years
Annual Turnover 54%

Portfolio Composition as of 12.31.2023

Composition Fund Index
Corporate 26.0% 25.0%
    Financial Institutions 10.4% 8.3%
    Industrial 12.2% 14.6%
    Utility 3.3% 2.2%
Government Related 5.1% 4.8%
    Agency 0.6% 1.7%
    Local Authority 4.5% 0.8%
Securitized 47.5% 28.8%
    MBS 0.4% 0.0%
    ABS 9.1% 0.5%
    CMBS 8.6% 1.7%
    CMO 3.2% 0.0%
    MBS Passthrough 26.2% 26.7%
Treasury 21.1% 41.3%
    Treasury 21.1% 41.3%
[Cash] 0.3% 0.0%
    [Cash] 0.3% 0.0%

Top Ten Holdings as of 12.31.2023

# Company Name Value
1 U.S. Treasury 4.125% 15-Nov-2032 14.01%
2 U.S. Treasury 2.5% 15-Feb-2045 4.24%
3 U.S. Treasury 2.625% 15-Feb-2029 2.31%
4 Fnma 30Yr Pool#Cb7124 6.000% 01-Sep-2053 1.49%
5 Onemain Financial Issuance Trust 2021-1 1.55% 16-Jun-2036 1.32%
6 Fnma 30Yr Pool#Fs4929 5.000% 01-May-2053 1.20%
7 Fhlmc 30Yr Pool#Sd2774 5.500% 01-Mar-2053 1.19%
8 Hertz Vehicle Financing Iii Series 2021-2 1.68% 25-Dec-2027 1.00%
9 Fnma 30Yr Pool#Fs1475 3.500% 01-Apr-2052 0.97%
10 Onemain Direct Auto Receivables Trust 2023-1 5.41% 14-Nov-2029 0.92%

Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to change and risk. Based on Market Value of securities.

Growth of $10,000 as of 12.31.2023

The Growth of $10,000 is hypothetical based upon the performance of net A Shares at NAV for the period ended 12.31.2023. It includes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains.

Distribution

Monthly Dividend Distribution as of 02.29.2024

Month Class A Shares Class C Shares Class Inst'l Shares Class R6 Shares
February 2024 $0.0277 $0.0222 $0.0295 $0.0303
January 2024 $0.0284 $0.0225 $0.0303 $0.0311
December 2023 $0.0279 $0.0221 $0.0299 $0.0307
November 2023 $0.0275 $0.0220 $0.0293 $0.0301
October 2023 $0.0278 $0.0223 $0.0297 $0.0304
September 2023 $0.0262 $0.0207 $0.0281 $0.0288
August 2023 $0.0267 $0.0209 $0.0286 $0.0294
July 2023 $0.0259 $0.0201 $0.0279 $0.0286
June 2023 $0.0246 $0.0190 $0.0266 $0.0274
May 2023 $0.0247 $0.0187 $0.0267 $0.0274
April 2023 $0.0235 $0.0178 $0.0255 $0.0263
March 2023 $0.0238 $0.0179 $0.0257 $0.0265

30-Day SEC Yield as of 02.29.2024

Share Class Without Waivers With Waivers
Class A 3.92% 3.95%
Class C 3.25% 3.27%
Class I 4.26% 4.28%
Class R6 4.26% 4.33%

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