- Description
- Performance & Expenses
- Statistics
- Trading Restrictions
- Underlying Fund Characteristics
- Management
Description
Objective
The PLUS Fund's investment objective is to seek to offer a competitive level of income consistent with providing capital preservation and meeting liquidity needs. Key goals are to seek to preserve capital, by limiting risk of loss of principal and delivering stable returns, and to meet liquidity needs of those who invest in the PLUS Fund.
Principal Investment Strategies
MissionSquare Investments employs a structured, multi-product, multi-manager approach in managing the Fund. The Fund invests primarily in a diversified and tiered portfolio of stable value investment contracts and in fixed income securities, fixed income mutual funds, and fixed income commingled trust funds ("fixed income assets") that back certain stable value investment contracts. In addition, the Fund invests in money market mutual funds, as well as cash and cash equivalents. The Fund’s portfolio may include different types of investments with a variety of negotiated terms and maturities and is diversified across sectors and issuers. The composition of the Fund's portfolio and its allocations to various stable value investments and fixed income investment sectors, across the fund's multiple tiers, is determined based on prevailing economic and capital market conditions, relative value analysis, liquidity needs, and other factors. The Fund invests in stable value investment contracts to seek to achieve, over the long run, returns higher than those of money market funds and short-term bank rates and relatively stable returns compared to short-to-intermediate term fixed income funds. The Fund generally will not track shorter-term interest rates as closely as money market mutual funds, because of its longer maturity, potential adverse market changes, and provisions in stable value contracts held by the Fund. In addition, while the Fund's returns are generally expected to follow interest rate trends over time, they typically will do so on a lagged basis.
Principal Investment Risks
There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. You may lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund’s principal investment risks include: Stable Value Risk, Interest Rate Risk, Credit Risk, Stable Value Issuer Risk, Liquidity Risk, Reinvestment Risk, Call Risk, Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk, Asset-Backed Securities Risk, Securities Lending Risk, Derivative Instruments Risk, Large Investor Risk. Please refer to the “Trading Restrictions” tab. Please see the Disclosure Memorandum for additional information about the Fund’s risks.
Performance & Expenses
| Fund/Benchmark Name | Qtr | YTD | 1-Yr | 3-Yr | 5-Yr | 10-Yr | Since Inception |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MissionSquare PLUS Fund S11a | 0.50% | 1.40% | 1.87% | 2.04% | 2.16% | 2.14% | N/A |
| ICE BofA US 3 Month Treasury Bill Indexb,c | 0.46% | 0.61% | 0.62% | 0.59% | 1.15% | 0.68% | N/A |
Fund past performance, as shown, is no guarantee of how the Fund will perform in the future. The performance shown has been annualized for periods greater than one year. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. For current performance, participants or plan sponsors in a MissionSquare Retirement administered account can log in at www.missionsq.org, or institutions can go to www.investments.missionsq.org.
Performance information for this class prior to its inception date is the performance of the Fund adjusted to reflect the estimated fees and expenses of this class.
Fund performance is shown comparing it to a "benchmark" which may be a (i) broad-based securities market index (ii) a group of mutual funds with similar investment objectives, or (iii) a short term government backed debt obligation such as a U.S. Treasury Bill. An index is not available for direct investment, is unmanaged, and does not reflect the costs of portfolio management or trading. A fund's portfolio may differ from the securities held in an index.
| Gross Expenses | 0.52% |
|---|---|
| Net Expenses | 0.52% |
a. MissionSquare Retirement and your employer may negotiate a different fund management or service fee for your Plan that would lower the total expense ratio. The performance and total expense ratio shown do not reflect any such alternative fee arrangements.
b. Certain information including, but not limited to, benchmark performance or other performance and/or fee information, is provided by Morningstar, Inc., © 2022 All rights reserved. This information: (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 information. Morningstar is a registered trademark of Morningstar, Inc.
c. The Intercontinental Exchange Bank of America ("ICE BofA") US Treasury Bill 3 Month Index is comprised of a single U.S. Treasury Bill issue purchased at the beginning of each month and held for a full month, at which time that issue is sold and rolled into a newly selected issue. The issue selected each month is that having a maturity date closest to, but not beyond 90 days from the rebalance date.
Statistics
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Traditional, Separate Account and Synthetic GIC Issuers | 16 |
| Traditional, Separate Account and Synthetic GIC Contracts | 75 |
| Effective Duration | 3.03 |
|
Credit Quality (Calculated based on Moody’s rating scale) | Aa3 |
|
Credit Quality (Calculated based on S&P’s rating scale) | AA- |
6. Credit Quality is calculated by MissionSquare Investments (MSQI) and is only one factor that may be considered in assessing the risks of a fixed income portfolio, and it does not provide a complete picture of the credit risks or the dispersion of those risks within a portfolio. MSQI calculates the average based on the Moody's, S&P, Fitch (M/S&P/F) or a combination of the three credit ratings of the underlying securities or wrap providers. Moody's, S&P, and Fitch are Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations and are not affiliated with MSQI.
Trading Restrictions
Purchase, Sale, and Transfer Restrictions
Direct transfers from the PLUS Fund to competing funds are restricted. Competing funds include, but are not limited to, the following types of investment options: (1) cash management funds, money market mutual funds, bank collective short-term investment funds, bank accounts or certificates of deposit, stable value funds or substantially similar investment options that offer guarantees of principal or income, such as guaranteed annuity contracts or similar arrangements with financial institutions; (2) short-term bond funds that invest in fixed income securities and seek to maintain or have an average portfolio duration of less than two years; and (3) any investment option that invests 80% or more of its assets in (i) fixed income securities or funds with a duration of less than two years, or (ii) instruments that seek to provide capital preservation such as stable value funds, bank certificates of deposit or bank accounts, and cash or cash equivalents. To transfer money from the PLUS Fund to a competing fund, you must first transfer the amount to a non-competing fund for a period of at least 90 days. For example, if you want to transfer money from the PLUS Fund to a money market fund, you will first need to transfer the money to a non-competing fund and then, 90 days later or any time thereafter, transfer that amount of money to the money market fund.
Additional Information About Restrictions on PLUS Fund Public Employer Withdrawals and Transfer Restrictions: In the event an Employer initiates withdrawal of all or part of its Plan’s assets from the PLUS Fund, the payout of such assets may be deferred for a period of up to twelve months. In the case of a total withdrawal, participant transfers of PLUS Fund assets to other investment options will be restricted and participants will not be able to make additional investments in the PLUS Fund during this twelve-month period.
Underlying Fund Characteristics
| Allocation of Assets | Percent |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 - Cash Buffer | 6.3% |
| Tier 2 - Shorter Duration Focus | 8.6% |
| Tier 3 - Laddered Maturity Focus | 22.7% |
| Tier 4 - Total Return Focus | 62.4% |
Due to rounding, percentages shown may not add up to 100%.
Management
Management
Investment Advisor: MissionSquare Investments
| Title | Accreditation | ||
| Karen Chong-Wulff | Managing Vice President | CFA, CAIA | Managed Fund Since 2007 |
| Oliver Meng | Director, Senior Fund Manager | CFA, CAIA, FRM | Managed Fund Since 2021 |
| Wayne Wicker | Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer | CFA | Managed Fund Since 2004 |
Footnotes
| 1. | The Fund is an investment option of VantageTrust II Multiple Collective Investment Funds Trust ("VantageTrust II"), a group trust established and maintained by VantageTrust Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of MissionSquare Retirement. VantageTrust II provides for the commingling of assets of certain trusts and plans as described in its Declaration of Trust and Participation Agreement, and is only available for investment by such eligible trusts and plans. The Fund is not a mutual fund. Its units are not deposits of VantageTrust Company and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other agency. The Fund is a security that has not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and is exempt from investment company registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940. For additional information regarding the Fund, including a description of the principal risks, please consult the Funds' Disclosure Memorandum. It is available at www.missionsq.org for plan administration clients, at www.investments.missionsq.org for institutions, or upon request by calling 800-669-7400. |
|---|---|
| 2. | Before investing in the Fund you should carefully consider your investment goals, tolerance for risk, investment time horizon, and personal circumstances. There is no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective and you can lose money. |
| 3. | When Funds are marketed to institutional clients, the Funds are offered by MissionSquare Investment Services, an SEC registered broker-dealer and FINRA member firm. MissionSquare Investment Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MissionSquare Retirement and is an affiliate of VantageTrust Company, LLC and MissionSquare Investments. |
| 5. | Effective duration measures the interest rate sensitivity of the underlying portfolio. For the portion of the Fund invested in Maturing GICs, effective duration is not applicable and a duration of zero is assigned since their current values are not impacted by interest rate changes. If a duration based on weighted average maturity or cash flows is assigned to the Maturing GICs, the Fund's overall September 30, 2022 duration would be 3.70. |