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Special Opportunities Fund

Mutual Funds

Special Opportunities Fund


Fund Managers

Photo of Daniel  Morrall

Daniel Morrall

Photo of James  Curtis

James Curtis, CFA®

Overview

R6
Shares

STRSX

Inception
Date

02.01.2018

Investment
Min.

N/A

Subsequent
Investment Min.1

N/A

Max. Up Front
Sales Charge

N/A

Max. Deferred
Sales Charge

N/A

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

Philosophy & Process

The fund's management team utilizes fundamental analysis overlaid with top-down macroeconomic trends. The fund's objective is long-term capital appreciation. It has a concentrated portfolio of 30 to 35 stocks and has the flexibility to shift among styles and differing market caps (large, small, mid, growth or value) to achieve best perceived combination of underlying growth potential at the lowest available valuation. The management team utilizes screens and various forms of research to search for stocks that meet valuation, growth and financial strength objectives and identify themes that transcend day-to-day economic news flows. Valuation is a key determinant for stocks to enter the portfolio. The team looks for below-average valuations (P/E) with above-average earnings growth with below-average leverage and above-average returns (ROE).

Investment Considerations

The fund is subject to investment style risk which depends where the fund is primarily invested. An investment in growth stocks may be particularly sensitive to market conditions while value stocks may be undervalued for longer than anticipated. The fund may invest in foreign securities subject to risks such as currency volatility, political and social instability or small capitalization companies subject to greater volatility and less liquidity due to limited resources or product lines. 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.

Fund Facts

Term Class A Shares Class C Shares Class I Shares Class R6 Shares
Ticker BOPAXBOPCXBOPIXSTRSX
Inception Date 06.02.200306.02.200306.02.200302.01.2018
Investment Min. $1,000$1,000$1,000,000N/A
Subsequent Investment Min.2 N/AN/AN/AN/A
Max. Up Front Sales Charge N/A5.75%N/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.

Special Opportunities Fund

Management

View professional designations disclosures

Photo of Daniel  Morrall

Daniel Morrall

Co-Portfolio Manager

Photo of James  Curtis

James Curtis, CFA®

Co-Portfolio Manager

Performance

Fund Performance as of 06.30.2023

Term QTR YTD 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years Since Inception
A Shares with 5.75% Sales Charge 3.19% 7.92% 9.51% 12.04% 7.95% 10.43% 10.64%
A Shares without Sales Charge 9.51% 14.51% 16.21% 14.26% 9.23% 11.09% 10.96%
Institutional Shares 9.57% 14.71% 16.51% 14.56% 9.51% 11.37% 11.24%
Lipper Multi-Cap Core Median 7.11% 13.54% 17.36% 12.77% 9.88% 10.84% N/A

The total expense ratios for Class A, C and I Shares are 1.11%, 1.86% and 0.86%, respectively. The gross expense ratio for Class R6 Shares is 0.86%. The net expense ratio for Class R6 Shares is 0.78%.

The Fund Administrator, Sterling Capital Management LLC, has contractually agreed to waive its administrative fees, pay Fund operating expenses, and/or reimburse the Fund .08% 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 Special Opportunities 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 06.02.2003. The inception date for Class C Shares is 06.02.2003. The inception date for Class Inst'l Shares is 06.02.2003. 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

Top Ten Holdings as of 06.30.2023

# Company Name Value
1 Amazon.com, Inc. 5.27%
2 Alphabet, Inc. 5.24%
3 NXP Semiconductors NV 4.94%
4 HCA Holdings, Inc. 4.52%
5 Charles Schwab Corp. 4.47%
6 UnitedHealth Group, Inc. 4.34%
7 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. 4.06%
8 Danaher Corp. 3.97%
9 Visa, Inc. 3.86%
10 Intuit, Inc. 3.82%

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.

Statistics

Risk/Return Statistics vs. Russell 3000® Index 3 as of 06.30.2023

Term Value
Alpha -1.12
Beta 1.01
R-Squared 90.98
Standard Deviation 16.22
Sharpe Ratio 0.62

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.

Summary Statistics as of 06.30.2023

Term Value
P/E FY1 27.07
Weighted Average P/B 3.42
Weighted Average Market Cap $333.67B
Annual Turnover 35%

Equity Funds

Insights

preview of document

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%.

preview of document

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®

The Lead - "Balancing Yield"

- 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.

preview of document

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.

preview of document

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.

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