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 | 0.86% | 0.86% | 13.42% | 8.83% | 11.40% | 10.15% | 10.27% |
| A Shares without Sales Charge | 7.02% | 7.02% | 20.35% | 11.01% | 12.74% | 10.81% | 10.60% |
| Institutional Shares | 7.09% | 7.09% | 20.64% | 11.28% | 13.02% | 11.08% | 10.87% |
| Lipper Equity Income Median | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | 5.36% |
| 2 | Ferguson PLC | 4.83% |
| 3 | Discover Financial Services | 4.37% |
| 4 | Charles Schwab | 4.21% |
| 5 | Anthem | 4.15% |
| 6 | Accenture PLC | 4.13% |
| 7 | Ameriprise Financial | 4.02% |
| 8 | Avery Dennison | 4.00% |
| 9 | Home Depot | 3.92% |
| 10 | Abbott Laboratories | 3.83% |
Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to change and risk. Based on Market Value of securities.
Sector Allocation as of 12.31.2023
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 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.
| 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 | 1.99 |
| Beta | 0.94 |
| R-Squared | 93.64 |
| Standard Deviation | 14.90 |
| Sharpe Ratio | 0.59 |
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 | 26.06 |
| Weighted Average P/B | 4.36 |
| Weighted Average Market Cap | $258.76B |
| Annual Turnover | 41% |
Equity Income Fund
Materials
Equity Funds
Insights
04.04.2024 • Charles Wittmann, CFA®
The Lead - "Seeking Advantaged Economies of Scale"
- One important advantage we seek in large capitalization stocks is having dominant market shares that provide economies of scale. - Economies of scale may make a company more profitable and earn higher returns on its capital than its competitors. - We believe it is possible to identify companies that gain scale, market share, and returns at the expense of competitors. - As we have stated for close to two decades as part of our investment philosophy, we believe size usually translates into cost advantages in production, marketing, and research and development expenditures that can be re-invested back into the business, making such advantages sustainable.
03.05.2024 • Charles Wittmann, CFA®
The Lead - "Advantaged Market Share"
- What makes an advantaged company? - In our view, one notable characteristic of an advantaged company is growing its market share. - Simply put, we believe companies with greater market share are more profitable. - We seek to field a portfolio of advantaged companies with strong and potentially growing market shares to position our clients to win.
03.01.2024
4Q23 Equity Income SMA Review and Outlook
The 4Q23 Equity Income SMA Review and Outlook reviews performance, holdings, and dividend growth within the strategy.
03.01.2024 • Shane Burke
The Federal Reserve During an Election Year - March 2024
2024 is expected to be one of the biggest election years in history, with more than 60 countries representing approximately half of the world’s population heading to the polls. The year will include multi-day legislative elections in India (the largest population in the world), Indonesia’s presidential election (the world’s largest single-day vote), and the globally-anticipated U.S. presidential election.
02.06.2024 • Charles Wittmann, CFA®
- By utilizing our investment process and our investment team, we believe we can build portfolios different from the benchmark and provide an opportunity to generate returns above the benchmark over time. - Ironically, many passive indexes make active bets themselves. In 2023, the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats suffered its worst performance relative to the S&P 500® Index since 1999. - We’ve believed for over 20 years that portfolio managers with material amounts of their net worth invested alongside clients incentivizes portfolio diversification and active adjustments, rather than a static index where there is no vested interest. Our mission is to generate above-average returns with below-average risk over time.
02.02.2024
Sterling Capital Management LLC to be acquired by Guardian Capital Group Limited
We are delighted to announce that Guardian Capital Group Limited has reached an agreement under which Guardian’s wholly-owned subsidiary Guardian Capital LLC will acquire Sterling Capital from Truist. Post-closing, Sterling Capital will become an independently-operated subsidiary of Guardian.
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