K2 Alternative Strategies Fund
Name
As of 12/27/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Exp Ratio
Watchlist
Vitals
YTD Return
11.2%
1 yr return
11.2%
3 Yr Avg Return
1.4%
5 Yr Avg Return
2.6%
Net Assets
$565 M
Holdings in Top 10
53.1%
52 WEEK LOW AND HIGH
Expenses
OPERATING FEES
Expense Ratio 3.00%
SALES FEES
Front Load N/A
Deferred Load N/A
TRADING FEES
Turnover 236.64%
Redemption Fee N/A
Min Investment
Standard (Taxable)
$1,000
IRA
$250
Fund Classification
Fund Type
Open End Mutual Fund
Name
As of 12/27/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Exp Ratio
Watchlist
FSKKX - Profile
Distributions
- YTD Total Return 11.2%
- 3 Yr Annualized Total Return 1.4%
- 5 Yr Annualized Total Return 2.6%
- Capital Gain Distribution Frequency Annually
- Net Income Ratio -0.91%
- Dividend Yield 0.1%
- Dividend Distribution Frequency Annual
Fund Details
-
Legal NameK2 Alternative Strategies Fund
-
Fund Family NameFranklin Templeton Group of Funds
-
Inception DateNov 18, 2013
-
Shares Outstanding72879
-
Share ClassR
-
CurrencyUSD
-
Domiciled CountryUS
-
ManagerBrooks Ritchey
Fund Description
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment goal by predominantly allocating its assets across multiple non-traditional or “alternative” strategies, including, but not limited to, some or all of the following strategies: Long Short Equity, Relative Value, Event Driven and Global Macro, each of which is described below. The Fund’s portfolio is structured as a multi-manager fund (meaning the Fund’s assets are managed by the Fund’s investment manager and multiple sub-advisors) and the Fund’s investment manager, K2/D&S Management Co., L.L.C. (doing business as K2 Advisors; “K2 Advisors” or the “Investment Manager”), has overall responsibility for the Fund’s investments. The Investment Manager may allocate a substantial portion or, at times, up to all, of the Fund’s assets among multiple sub-advisors (that may be unaffiliated or affiliated with K2 Advisors, or both) to implement one or more non-traditional or alternative investment strategies (“Sub-Advisors”), or directly implement such strategies for a portion or significant portion of the Fund’s assets. The Investment Manager may also directly manage a small portion or a portion of the Fund’s assets using derivatives and other instruments to adjust the Fund's net exposure to markets, asset classes and sectors in a manner consistent with its strategic overlay (Strategic Overlay), as described further below.
The Fund may invest in a wide range of securities and other investments including, but not limited to: equity securities (which may include common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities, investment vehicles and ETFs) and debt
securities (which may include bonds, notes, debentures, banker’s acceptances and commercial paper).
The Fund may invest in securities of U.S. and foreign companies of any capitalization size. Up to 15%of the Fund’s net assets may be invested in illiquid investments. In addition, the debt securities in which the Fund may invest may have variable or fixed interest rates, may be of any maturity or credit rating, and may include sovereign debt, high yield (“junk”) bonds and distressed debt securities (securities of companies that are, or are about to be, involved in reorganizations, financial restructurings, or bankruptcy) and securities that are in default. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading as part of its investment strategies.
The Fund may also use derivatives for both hedging and non-hedging (investment) purposes, although neither the Investment Manager nor any Sub-Advisor is required to hedge any of the Fund’s positions or to use derivatives. The Fund’s derivative investments may include, among other instruments: (i) futures contracts, including futures based on equity or fixed income securities and indices, interest rate/bond futures, currency futures, currency index futures, and options thereon; (ii) swaps, including equity, currency, interest rate, total return and credit default swaps and options thereon; (iii) options, including call options and put options on indices, individual securities, currencies and exchange-traded funds; and (iv) currency forward contracts. These derivatives may be used to enhance Fund returns, increase liquidity, gain exposure to certain instruments or markets in a more efficient or less expensive way and/or hedge risks associated with its other portfolio investments. The results of such transactions may also represent, from time to time, a material component of the Fund’s investment returns. As a result of the Fund’s use of derivatives, the Fund may have economic leverage, which means the sum of the Fund’s investment exposures through its use of derivatives may significantly exceed the amount of assets invested in the Fund, although these exposures may vary over time.
The Fund may take long and/or short positions in a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, commodities and currencies, among others. Long positions benefit from an increase in the price of the underlying instrument or asset class, while short positions benefit from a decrease in that price.
The Investment Manager’s Strategic Overlay seeks to manage the portfolio’s net exposure to the markets by neutralizing, maintaining or augmenting certain market sensitivities, based on the Investment Manager’s assessment of current and anticipated market environments. The Strategic Overlay involves adjusting the Fund's net exposure to certain markets, asset classes and sectors through taking long and short positions in derivatives (such as futures, swaps, currency forwards and options), short-term U.S. government securities, spot foreign exchange, ETFs and other instruments. The amount of Fund assets allocated to the Strategic
Overlay is expected to vary depending on the Investment Manager’s assessment of current and anticipated market conditions and other risk factors.
Investment Management
The Investment Manager is responsible for allocating and re-allocating the Fund’s assets among the Sub-Advisors and/or any investment funds in which the Fund may invest, retaining a portion of the Fund’s assets to manage itself and for cash management. The Investment Manager’s quantitative and qualitative oversight of the Fund’s investment program aims to allocate assets among various strategies and select Sub-Advisors (or the Investment Manager) and/or investment funds that it believes are well-positioned to capture unique investment opportunities while preserving capital.
The Investment Manager typically first allocates the Fund’s assets among various alternative investment strategies and to the Strategic Overlay strategy utilizing a top-down approach, generating the Fund's strategy weightings by taking into account market conditions, risk factors, diversification, liquidity, transparency, and availability of various Sub-Advisors and other investment options, among other things. The Investment Manager typically then allocates the Fund’s assets to specific Sub-Advisors and/or retains a portion of the Fund’s assets to manage itself utilizing a bottom-up approach, selecting Sub-Advisors, the portion of the Fund’s assets it retains to manage directly, and weightings within the Fund's portfolio by taking into account their correlation to various markets and to each other, risk profiles and their return expectations. From time to time, the Fund may have little or no assets allocated to any one particular strategy, Sub-Advisor or retained by the Investment Manager in light of economic or other conditions, as determined by the Investment Manager in its sole discretion.
The Investment Manager intends to allocate the Fund’s assets to Sub-Advisors or retain a portion of the Fund’s assets to manage itself, to implement some or all of the following strategies:
·Long Short Equity Strategies – Long Short Equity Strategies generally seek to produce returns from investments in the equity markets by taking long and short positions in stocks and stock indices (through the use of derivatives or through a short position in an exchange-traded fund (ETF)). These strategies are generally focused on risk-adjusted returns and capitalize on the Sub-Advisor’s views and outlooks for specific equity markets, regions, sectors and securities. Examples of Long Short Equity Strategies include (i) growth focused strategies, (ii) value focused strategies, (iii) market-neutral strategies (e.g., maintaining net exposures between 20% short and 20% long), (iv) sector-focused strategies (e.g., technology, healthcare, financials) and (v) regionally or country focused strategies (e.g., U.S., Europe, Asia).
·Relative Value Strategies – Relative Value Strategies encompass a wide range of investment techniques that are intended to profit from pricing inefficiencies. These strategies generally involve taking a position in one financial instrument and taking an offsetting position in a related instrument in an attempt to profit from incremental changes in the price differential. Examples of Relative Value Strategies are: (a) risk premia strategies; (b) credit long short strategies; (c) credit arbitrage; (d) convertible arbitrage; and (e) volatility arbitrage.
·Event Driven Strategies – Event Driven Strategies generally invest in securities of companies undergoing corporate events. These strategies are generally focused on analyzing the impact of the company-specific or transaction-specific event on security valuations. Examples of such company-specific or transaction-specific events include mergers, acquisitions, transfers of assets, tender offers, exchange offers, recapitalizations, liquidations, divestitures, spin-offs, equity restructurings and reorganizations.
·Global Macro Strategies – Global Macro Strategies generally focus on macro-economic (economy-wide developments such as changes in unemployment, national income, rate of growth, gross domestic product, inflation and price levels) opportunities across numerous markets and investments. Investments may be long or short and are based on the relative value or direction of a market, a currency, an interest rate, a commodity or any macroeconomic variable. Examples of Global Macro Strategies include discretionary (seeking to profit by tactically investing across different asset classes, markets, and investment opportunities through a combination of fundamental market analysis and quantitative modeling) and systematic (seeking to profit by utilizing quantitative models to identify investment opportunities across different asset classes and markets in order to construct a portfolio of investments) macro strategies.
FSKKX - Performance
Return Ranking - Trailing
Period | FSKKX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
YTD | 11.2% | -73.0% | 19.4% | 61.29% |
1 Yr | 11.2% | -9.1% | 86.9% | 38.55% |
3 Yr | 1.4%* | -9.5% | 16.2% | 47.39% |
5 Yr | 2.6%* | -4.9% | 14.4% | 32.74% |
10 Yr | 2.4%* | -0.9% | 7.5% | N/A |
* Annualized
Return Ranking - Calendar
Period | FSKKX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 2.1% | -22.7% | 305.1% | 21.85% |
2022 | -10.0% | -9.8% | 27.3% | 35.48% |
2021 | -2.0% | -20.8% | 10.9% | 31.11% |
2020 | 5.9% | -12.4% | 29.4% | 24.75% |
2019 | 6.5% | -10.5% | 15.8% | 42.93% |
Total Return Ranking - Trailing
Period | FSKKX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
YTD | 11.2% | -73.0% | 19.4% | 61.29% |
1 Yr | 11.2% | -13.4% | 86.9% | 34.55% |
3 Yr | 1.4%* | -9.5% | 16.2% | 43.37% |
5 Yr | 2.6%* | -5.3% | 14.4% | 30.04% |
10 Yr | 2.4%* | -0.9% | 7.5% | N/A |
* Annualized
Total Return Ranking - Calendar
Period | FSKKX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 2.3% | -22.7% | 305.1% | 22.22% |
2022 | -8.4% | -9.8% | 27.3% | 35.89% |
2021 | 2.5% | -20.8% | 10.9% | 43.56% |
2020 | 6.8% | -8.4% | 29.4% | 40.10% |
2019 | 6.8% | -10.2% | 18.0% | 50.79% |
NAV & Total Return History
FSKKX - Holdings
Concentration Analysis
FSKKX | Category Low | Category High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Net Assets | 565 M | 1.5 M | 5.01 B | 13.65% |
Number of Holdings | 2878 | 4 | 4478 | 7.07% |
Net Assets in Top 10 | 317 M | -398 M | 2.55 B | 32.16% |
Weighting of Top 10 | 53.08% | 13.1% | 100.0% | 92.66% |
Top 10 Holdings
- FIDELITY INSTL MMKT GOVT 16.19%
- Dreyfus Government Cash Management 12.95%
- United States Treasury Bill 5.80%
- United States Treasury Bill 5.33%
- DREYFUS QII GOV CASH 289 5.08%
- United States Treasury Bill 2.03%
- United States Treasury Bill 2.03%
- United States Treasury Bill 2.03%
- Constellation Energy Corp 0.85%
- United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.78%
Asset Allocation
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cash | 55.36% | -6278.21% | 410.43% | 29.68% |
Bonds | 35.76% | -326.45% | 6347.80% | 53.71% |
Convertible Bonds | 13.58% | 0.00% | 87.92% | 3.89% |
Stocks | 7.40% | -3.75% | 97.95% | 66.08% |
Other | 1.48% | -21.53% | 148.54% | 56.89% |
Preferred Stocks | 0.01% | -0.12% | 46.97% | 28.27% |
Stock Sector Breakdown
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Technology | 17.52% | 0.00% | 39.58% | 15.35% |
Healthcare | 15.99% | 0.00% | 45.63% | 6.30% |
Consumer Cyclical | 12.91% | 0.00% | 29.09% | 35.43% |
Industrials | 12.90% | 0.00% | 21.45% | 36.22% |
Financial Services | 12.90% | 0.00% | 59.28% | 75.98% |
Utilities | 9.37% | 0.00% | 9.23% | 35.83% |
Communication Services | 8.01% | 0.00% | 21.78% | 45.67% |
Consumer Defense | 4.34% | 0.00% | 13.62% | 74.02% |
Basic Materials | 3.99% | 0.00% | 27.46% | 47.24% |
Energy | 1.63% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 86.61% |
Real Estate | 0.45% | 0.00% | 51.26% | 89.76% |
Stock Geographic Breakdown
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | 6.29% | -8.85% | 91.88% | 61.13% |
Non US | 1.11% | -19.62% | 42.11% | 44.52% |
Bond Sector Breakdown
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cash & Equivalents | 34.22% | 0.27% | 100.00% | 40.64% |
Corporate | 33.55% | 0.00% | 87.73% | 21.20% |
Government | 10.74% | 0.00% | 84.29% | 69.96% |
Securitized | 9.81% | 0.00% | 56.83% | 25.09% |
Derivative | 1.48% | 0.00% | 88.81% | 95.05% |
Municipal | 0.02% | 0.00% | 27.33% | 10.60% |
Bond Geographic Breakdown
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | 32.77% | -126.19% | 6311.18% | 74.91% |
Non US | 2.99% | -382.37% | 121.02% | 26.50% |
FSKKX - Expenses
Operational Fees
FSKKX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Expense Ratio | 3.00% | 0.29% | 31.15% | 20.14% |
Management Fee | 1.70% | 0.00% | 2.50% | 94.70% |
12b-1 Fee | 0.50% | 0.00% | 1.00% | 72.97% |
Administrative Fee | 0.15% | 0.01% | 0.30% | 80.82% |
Sales Fees
FSKKX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Front Load | N/A | 2.50% | 5.75% | N/A |
Deferred Load | N/A | 1.00% | 5.00% | N/A |
Trading Fees
FSKKX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Max Redemption Fee | N/A | 1.00% | 2.00% | N/A |
Related Fees
Turnover provides investors a proxy for the trading fees incurred by mutual fund managers who frequently adjust position allocations. Higher turnover means higher trading fees.
FSKKX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Turnover | 236.64% | 0.00% | 491.00% | 88.71% |
FSKKX - Distributions
Dividend Yield Analysis
FSKKX | Category Low | Category High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend Yield | 0.14% | 0.00% | 4.56% | 83.39% |
Dividend Distribution Analysis
FSKKX | Category Low | Category High | Category Mod | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend Distribution Frequency | Annual | Annually | Quarterly | Annually |
Net Income Ratio Analysis
FSKKX | Category Low | Category High | FSKKX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Net Income Ratio | -0.91% | -2.51% | 6.83% | 82.73% |
Capital Gain Distribution Analysis
FSKKX | Category Low | Category High | Capital Mode | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Capital Gain Distribution Frequency | Annually | Annually | Annually | Annually |
Distributions History
Date | Amount | Type |
---|---|---|
Dec 28, 2023 | $0.018 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 29, 2022 | $0.197 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 30, 2021 | $0.550 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 30, 2020 | $0.098 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 30, 2019 | $0.032 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 30, 2019 | $0.006 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 28, 2018 | $0.252 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 28, 2017 | $0.116 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 29, 2016 | $0.052 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 29, 2015 | $0.038 | CapitalGainLongTerm |
Dec 29, 2014 | $0.041 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 27, 2013 | $0.041 | OrdinaryDividend |
FSKKX - Fund Manager Analysis
Managers
Brooks Ritchey
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Oct 01, 2014
7.67
7.7%
Brooks Ritchey is a senior managing director and head of portfolio construction for K2 Advisors. In this role, he manages absolute return, multi-asset, and risk overlay portfolios. He is member of the alternatives executive committee, Japan investment committee, and K2 Advisors guideline committee. Since 1987, Mr. Ritchey has managed multi-asset mutual fund and hedge fund portfolios while located in New York and Paris, France during his employment with organizations including Steinhardt Partners, Citibank, Finch Asset Management, Paribas, AIG, and ING. Mr. Ritchey joined K2 Advisors in 2005.
Robert Christian
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Oct 01, 2014
7.67
7.7%
Robert Christian is a senior managing director and Head of Investment Research. He joined K2 Advisors in May 2010.From 1990 to 1995 Mr. Christian worked as a global strategist and proprietary trader at Chase Manhattan Futures Corporation. In 1995, he founded Modoc Capital focusing on short-term futures trading. In 1997 Modoc entered into a joint venture with Stonebrook Capital Management LLC as a portfolio manager and researcher. From 1998 to 2003 Mr. Christian worked at Graham Capital Management LP as a portfolio manager and researcher of quantitative based trading strategies.
Anthony Zanolla
Start Date
Tenure
Tenure Rank
Oct 01, 2018
3.67
3.7%
Anthony Zanolla, CFA, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager, joined K2 in October 2014. Mr. Zanolla began his investment career in 1994 at Bankers Trust where he worked on the Business Risk team executing risk management and business process reengineering projects for senior management and the board of directors. Mr. Zanolla joined Citibank in 1996 as a portfolio manager managing global equity and balanced investment mandates for institutions, non-profit entities and ultra high net worth individuals. In 2000 he was recruited to join Scudder Kemper Investments as a Vice President in the Venture Capital unit working on the development of a private client asset management and advisory platform. In 2001 Mr. Zanolla left Scudder to join former Citigroup colleagues as a Founding Partner and Equity Analyst at Norquest Capital, a Global Equity L/S hedge fund, where he was responsible for investments in the TMT, Industrials, Transportation, and Service sectors. He joined Allianz Hedge Fund Partners in 2002 where he was a member of the investment committee and strategy head responsible for global long-short equity, event driven, distressed and commodity trading advisors. He was also responsible for top down analysis and development if the Firm's global equity outlook. Mr. Zanolla left Allianz in October 2005 to join Northern Trust as co portfolio manager of the Hedge Fund group. In 2007 he was promoted to SVP and Portfolio Manager responsible for manager identification, research and selection, monitoring and portfolio construction for both fund of funds and custom portfolios. Mr. Zanolla graduated from Bernard M Baruch College in January 1994 with a B.B.A. in Accounting. He earned the CFA designation in 1999 and holds a NFA Series 3 license.
Tenure Analysis
Category Low | Category High | Category Average | Category Mode |
---|---|---|---|
0.02 | 17.37 | 4.48 | 1.67 |