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RSFYX Victory Floating Rate (Y) Rated 5* by M* *****

Jim0445
in Fund Discussions
So when I notice a floating rate fund rated 5* by M*, I decided to read M*'s analysis. Like a bikini bathing suit, it revealed just enough to make for an interesting read. It seems that Victory (a division of Guardian Insurance Co.) took this fund over from USAA which had historically subcontracted the fund's management to MFS under which this fund had achieved an excellent record. Well, guess what. When Victory took over the fund, Victory decides that it can save big bucks by firing MFS and manage the fund with its own crack fixed income group consisting of a skeletal staff of six souls. M* correctly commented that this may not be in the fund's shareholders because of the possible lack of depth of management and no reduction in the fund's expense ratio. But what hit me was that M* still rates the fund 5*. If you need evidence that M*'s ratings are "rear-view mirror" based, this is a classic case. I will give M* credit for not giving the fund a grade (Gold, Silver, etc.) I believe I'll stick with floating rate funds of the likes of Fidelity and T Rowe Price. (I'm writing this from memory so forgive me if I got any details wrong. Do your own due diligence.)

Comments

  • Jim0445
    I meant to say that "M* correctly commented that this may not be in the BEST INTERESTS of the fund's shareholders because of the possible lack of depth of management and no reduction in the fund's expense ratio. Impossible to proofread your own stuff.


  • Dennis Baran
    Impossible to proofread your own stuff.
    You nailed it! What working in the newsroom taught me.

    :)
  • msf
    You can edit a post you make by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the post. That brings up a bubble where you can click "edit".

    The history of the fund's day-to-day management is one of continuity. Kevin Booth was an original manager of the fund (first with Guardian Investor Services, then with Guardian's subsidiary Park Ave) and continues as a co-manager for Park Ave. Victory acquired the management firm RS Investment Management and retained Park Ave as the sub-adviser.

    Technically, Guardian was the sub-adviser through April 30, 2015. Then it switched to Park Avenue Institutional Advisers, which according to the 2015 prospectus was "organized in 2015 [as a] wholly-owned subsidiary of GIS [Guardian Investor Services]."

    The SEC filing announcing Victory's acquisition of RS Investment Management Company (not Guardian) said that it would keep the subadvisory contracts in place except for a few funds. RSFYX kept its sub-adviser.

    The fund's best performance has come since it joined the Victory family. So it's not a matter of the fund "still" earning a 5 star rating, but rather that it's now at the top of its game. It has a 5 star rating for its past 3 and 5 years, but "only" 4 stars over its past ten years, i.e. its lifetime.

    For completeness, according to the current prospectus, "Victory Capital Management Inc "is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. (“VCH”), a publicly traded Delaware corporation." It is not a subsidiary of Guardian.

    USAA Investment Management Company was recently acquired by Schwab, and AFAIK never had anything to do with RSFYX.
    https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/51485/charles-schwab-corporation-to-acquire-assets-of-usaa-s-investment-management-company
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