Overview
C
Shares
BCEGX
Inception
Date
06.30.2004
Investment
Min.
$1,000
Subsequent
Investment Min.1
N/A
Max. Up Front
Sales Charge
N/A
Max. Deferred
Sales Charge
1%
1If subsequent investments are made as part of an AIP, the minimum is $25.
Philosophy & Process
The fund’s management team utilizes fundamental analysis to construct a portfolio of high-quality, dividend growth equities. They look for the best ideas that include companies with strong balance sheets that are reasonably valued and have shown market/sales gain over time with a credible plan to continue such growth in the future. The fund represents a concentrated portfolio utilizing "best ideas" with the typical number of core holdings between 30 and 35. Dividends matter to the management team and they only purchase companies that have raised their dividends for the last three consecutive years or for six years of the last ten. They target stocks with dividend yields greater than the yield of the S&P 500® Index.
Investment Considerations
The fund invests primarily in dividend-paying securities but also in convertible securities in search of yield. These securities may be undervalued not performing as anticipated and its value could be negatively affected by a rise in interest rates. The fund may engage in writing covered call options. By selling covered call options, the fund limits its opportunity to profit from an increase in the price of the underlying stock above the exercise price, but continues to bear the risk of a decline in the stock. While the fund receives premiums for writing the call options, the price it realizes from the exercise of an option could be substantially below a stock’s current market price.
| Term | Class A Shares | Class C Shares | Class I Shares | Class R6 Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticker | BAEIX | BCEGX | BEGIX | STREX |
| Inception Date | 06.30.2004 | 06.30.2004 | 06.30.2004 | 02.01.2018 |
| Investment Min. | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000,000 | N/A |
| Subsequent Investment Min.2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Max. Up Front Sales Charge | 5.75% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Max. Deferred Sales Charge | N/A | 1% | N/A | N/A |
2If subsequent investments are made as part of an AIP, the minimum is $25.
Co-Portfolio Manager
Co-Portfolio Manager
Performance
| Term | QTR | YTD | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | Since Inception |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Shares with 5.75% Sales Charge | -3.66% | -3.96% | 2.27% | 13.07% | 9.66% | 9.20% | 9.75% |
| A Shares without Sales Charge | 2.23% | 1.91% | 8.51% | 15.33% | 10.97% | 9.85% | 10.09% |
| Institutional Shares | 2.28% | 2.02% | 8.75% | 15.61% | 11.25% | 10.13% | 10.36% |
| Lipper Equity Income Median | 3.73% | 4.07% | 10.26% | 13.31% | 8.55% | 9.13% | N/A |
The total expense ratios for Class A, C and I Shares are 1.04%, 1.79% and 0.79%, respectively. The gross expense ratio for Class R6 Shares is 0.79%. The net expense ratio for Class R6 Shares is 0.69%.
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 Equity Income 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 06.30.2004. The inception date for Class C Shares is 06.30.2004. The inception date for Class Inst'l Shares is 06.30.2004. The inception date for Class R6 Shares is 02.01.2018. The performance shown reflects the reinvestment of all dividend and capital gains distributions.
Characteristics
| # | Company Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Corp. | 4.81% |
| 2 | Ferguson PLC | 4.31% |
| 3 | Accenture PLC | 3.97% |
| 4 | Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. | 3.97% |
| 5 | Abbott Laboratories | 3.93% |
| 6 | Analog Devices, Inc. | 3.92% |
| 7 | Ameriprise Financial, Inc. | 3.85% |
| 8 | Home Depot, Inc. | 3.85% |
| 9 | Avery Dennison Corp. | 3.72% |
| 10 | Automatic Data Processing Inc | 3.69% |
Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to change and risk. Based on Market Value of securities.
Sector Allocation as of 06.30.2023
Allocations are based on the current weight to funds in the cited Sector. The composition of the fund's holdings is subject to change.
Growth of $10,000 as of 06.30.2023
The Growth of $10,000 is hypothetical based upon the performance of net A Shares at NAV for the period ended 06.30.2023. It includes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains.
| Term | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lipper Ranking / Number of Funds in Category | 119 / 466 | 10 / 442 | 4 / 420 | 45 / 279 |
| Lipper Quartile (Percentile) | 2nd (26%) | 1st (3%) | 1st (1%) | 1st (17%) |
Statistics
| Term | Value |
|---|---|
| Alpha | 1.26 |
| Beta | 0.92 |
| R-Squared | 92.92 |
| Standard Deviation | 14.47 |
| Sharpe Ratio | 0.61 |
3The Funds composition is subject to change. Annual Turnover Ratio is 12 month rolling calculation. Alpha, Beta, R-Squared, Standard Deviation, and Sharpe Ratio are based on a 10-year calculation.
View a Glossary of Terms.
| Term | Value |
|---|---|
| Weighted Median P/E | 22.77 |
| Weighted Average P/B | 4.04 |
| Weighted Average Market Cap | $230.49B |
| Annual Turnover | 49% |
Equity Income Fund
Materials
Equity Funds
Insights
09.21.2023 • Andrew Richman, CTFA
Fed Reiterates-Higher for Longer
While the Federal Reserve (Fed) met expectations with a pause/skip this meeting, the real story was the upward movement in both the Fed Funds rate this year and next year. The consensus is now for one more 25 basis point hike in 2023 with the Fed funds rate median at 5.60%.
09.07.2023 • Shane Burke
An Updated Look at the FOMC and Yield Curve
An Updated Look at the FOMC and Yield Curve
09.06.2023 • Charles Wittmann, CFA®
- One of the risks in seeking higher dividend yields in non-financial companies can be the increased balance sheet leverage that correlates with higher dividend yield. - For many companies, the cost of this leverage is rising with interest rates, potentially placing pressure on cash flows to pay future dividends as interest expense may take a greater share of corporate cash flow. - We believe that owning stocks with strong balance sheets has the potential to minimize this risk as we endeavor to generate attractive above-average total returns with below-average risk for clients.
08.02.2023 • Andrew Richman, CTFA
Fitch Lowers Long-Term U.S. Debt Rating from AAA to AA+
Fitch Lowers Long-Term U.S. Debt Rating from AAA to AA+
08.01.2023 • Charles Wittmann, CFA®
The Lead - "Long-Term Dividends"
- What are the investing environment conditions that can cause dividend payers to lag on a short-term basis? - Looking back at Bloomberg data over the past twenty years, when dividend payers outperformed the Russell 1000 Value, non-earners underperformed and vice versa (56% of the time). - Over the twenty year period, dividend payer’s quarterly outperformance outweighed underperformance in contrast to non-earners. - In our quest to generate above-average returns with below-average risk for our clients, our approach is to take advantage of the long-term benefits of dividend payers that grow their dividends and seek to create value now and in the future.
07.25.2023 • Andrew DiZio, CFA®
Real Estate Returns Following Fed Rate Hike Cycles
Over the last 15 months, the Federal Reserve (Fed) has meaningfully raised the benchmark fed funds rate in an effort to tamp down inflation. The Fed paused its hiking campaign during the June meeting, but issued an outlook suggesting additional rate increases are to be expected. Regardless of whether the Fed has finished raising rates, we believe the end of the tightening cycle is near and view now as a prudent time to examine the performance of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) stocks following historical periods of fed funds increases.
Contact
Learn more about Sterling Capital solutions and services.
