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Trending ETFs

Name

As of 08/18/2022

Price

Aum/Mkt Cap

YIELD

Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.

Exp Ratio

Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.

Watchlist

$0.98

$17.9 M

0.00%

$0.00

1.90%

Vitals

YTD Return

-16.2%

1 yr return

-9.8%

3 Yr Avg Return

13.4%

5 Yr Avg Return

11.4%

Net Assets

$17.9 M

Holdings in Top 10

28.1%

52 WEEK LOW AND HIGH

$1.0
$0.80
$1.60

Expenses

OPERATING FEES

Expense Ratio 1.90%

SALES FEES

Front Load N/A

Deferred Load 1.00%

TRADING FEES

Turnover 157.35%

Redemption Fee N/A


Min Investment

Standard (Taxable)

$1,000

IRA

$1,000


Fund Classification

Fund Type

Open End Mutual Fund


Name

As of 08/18/2022

Price

Aum/Mkt Cap

YIELD

Annualized forward dividend yield. Multiplies the most recent dividend payout amount by its frequency and divides by the previous close price.

Exp Ratio

Expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expenses, including management fees, distribution fees, and other expenses, expressed as a percentage of average net assets.

Watchlist

$0.98

$17.9 M

0.00%

$0.00

1.90%

MLSCX - Profile

Distributions

  • YTD Total Return -16.2%
  • 3 Yr Annualized Total Return 13.4%
  • 5 Yr Annualized Total Return 11.4%
  • Capital Gain Distribution Frequency Annually
  • Net Income Ratio -1.14%
DIVIDENDS
  • Dividend Yield 0.0%
  • Dividend Distribution Frequency Annually

Fund Details

  • Legal Name
    abrdn U.S. Sustainable Leaders Smaller Companies Fund
  • Fund Family Name
    Aberdeen
  • Inception Date
    Dec 31, 1997
  • Shares Outstanding
    N/A
  • Share Class
    C
  • Currency
    USD
  • Domiciled Country
    United States
  • Manager
    Jason Kotik

Fund Description

The U.S. Sustainable Leaders Smaller Companies Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective of seeking long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of smaller (small- and mid-capitalization) U.S. companies that the Adviser deems to have sound and  improving prospects and which demonstrate that they are current or emerging sustainable leaders through their management of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risks and opportunities in accordance with the Adviser’s criteria.

In pursuing the Fund’s investment strategies, the Adviser invests in quality companies and is an active, engaged owner and takes into consideration a company’s management of ESG risks and opportunities and the company’s ESG performance. The Adviser evaluates every company against quality criteria and builds conviction using a team-based approach and peer review process. The Adviser’s stock analysts work closely with dedicated ESG specialists who sit within each regional investment team and provide industry-leading expertise and insight at the company level. When investing, the Adviser seeks to understand what’s changing in companies, industries and markets but is not being priced in or is being mispriced. Through deep, fundamental research, supported by a global research presence and proprietary tools, the Adviser seeks to identify companies whose quality is not yet fully recognized by the market.

The Adviser will assign each company a proprietary overall quality rating and also an ESG-quality rating ranging from 1 to 5 (1 indicating leaders and 5 indicating laggards) – enabling the Fund’s investment team to identify current and emerging sustainable leaders. Companies eligible for investment by the Fund must be rated 3 or better by the Adviser on both the overall quality rating and ESG-quality rating.

The overall quality assessment covers five key factors: (1) durability of the business model, (2) the attractiveness of the industry, (3) the strength of financials, (4) the capability of management, and (5) assessment of the company’s ESG credentials. In the ESG-quality filter, the Adviser evaluates the ownership structures, governance and management quality of the companies as well as potential environmental and social risks that the companies may face. The Adviser’s sustainability criteria are based on a proprietary scoring methodology, which includes an assessment of how a company manages its most material ESG risks and opportunities and the Adviser’s subjective judgment as to which companies are current or emerging sustainable leaders.

Examples of areas under scope when assessing a company’s ESG quality include the following:

Board Diversity
Capital Allocation
Capital Return
Carbon Emissions
Climate Risks
Corporate Governance
Corporate Strategy
Cyber Security
Deforestation
Diversity Issues
Employee Safety
ESG Disclosures
Human Rights
Labor Management
Market Communication
Remuneration
Succession Planning
Waste Management
Water Management

In carrying out its assessments of ESG quality, the Adviser’s equity analysts incorporate internal data sources, including a proprietary quantitative house score, external sources (e.g. MSCI reports), thematic expertise from the Adviser’s central ESG team and regional expertise from the Adviser’s on-desk ESG analysts. The Adviser relies heavily on its own in-depth research and analysis over third party ESG ratings.

Binary exclusions are also applied to exclude a defined list of unacceptable activities. Based on MSCI business involvement screening research, the Fund will seek to not invest in companies that have:

failed to uphold one or more principles of the UN Global Compact;
an industry tie to (including companies that provide support systems and services, as well as those with direct (i.e., owners and producers) and indirect (i.e., parents and subsidiaries) involvement in) controversial weapons (cluster munitions, landmines, biological / chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, blinding laser weapons, incendiary weapons, and/or non-detectable fragments);
a revenue contribution of 10% or more from the manufacture or sale of conventional weapons or weapons systems;
a revenue contribution of 10% or more from tobacco or are tobacco manufacturers;
a revenue contribution of 10% or more from the extraction of unconventional oil and gas (including oil sands, oil shale (kerogen-rich deposits), shale gas, shale oil, coal seam gas, and coal bed methane and excluding conventional oil and gas productions); or
a revenue contribution from thermal coal extraction.

The Fund will measure compliance with its principal investment strategies at the time of investment, except that compliance with binary exclusions is tested as frequently as MSCI data is updated, which is currently quarterly. If a company no longer meets the Adviser’s ESG criteria, the Adviser intends, but is not required, to sell such security.

As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the U.S. Sustainable Leaders Smaller Companies Fund will invest at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities issued by smaller U.S. companies that the Adviser considers to be current or emerging sustainable leaders in accordance with the Adviser’s criteria. Equity securities include, but are not limited to, common stock, preferred stock and depositary receipts.

The Fund considers smaller companies to be companies that have market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2500® Index at the time of investment. The range of the Russell 2500® Index was $30 million to $34.19 billion as of December 31, 2021.

Some companies may outgrow the definition of smaller company after the Fund has purchased their securities or may no longer fall within the range of a reconstituted index. These companies continue to be considered smaller for purposes of the Fund’s minimum 80% allocation to smaller company equities.

For purposes of the Fund’s 80% policy, a company is considered to be a U.S. company if Fund management determines that the company meets one or more of the following criteria:

the company is organized under the laws of, or has its principal office in the United States;
the company has its principal securities trading market in the United States; and/or
the company derives the majority of its annual revenue or earnings or assets from goods produced, sales made or services performed in the United States.

The Fund may also invest in larger companies and non-U.S. companies, including primarily Canadian companies.

The Fund may invest in securities of any market sector and may hold a significant amount of securities of companies, from time to time, within a single sector.

The Fund may invest in securities denominated in U.S. Dollars and the currencies of any foreign countries in which it is permitted to invest. The Fund typically has full currency exposure to those markets in which it invests.

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MLSCX - Performance

Return Ranking - Trailing

Period MLSCX Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD -16.2% -52.7% 606.6% 14.86%
1 Yr -9.8% -63.8% 60.0% 8.87%
3 Yr 13.4%* -20.6% 40.7% 11.22%
5 Yr 11.4%* -14.3% 30.8% 33.33%
10 Yr 7.3%* -7.0% 20.0% 98.88%

* Annualized

Return Ranking - Calendar

Period MLSCX Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2023 -1.7% -98.2% 781.7% 35.01%
2022 -32.0% -63.0% 340.3% 99.66%
2021 5.4% -9.1% 48.3% 97.57%
2020 -21.7% -76.3% 13.6% 66.73%
2019 -46.3% -46.3% 37.0% 100.00%

Total Return Ranking - Trailing

Period MLSCX Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
YTD -16.2% -67.4% 606.6% 11.82%
1 Yr -10.5% -64.1% 60.0% 9.21%
3 Yr 13.4%* -22.2% 40.7% 10.74%
5 Yr 11.4%* -15.3% 30.8% 31.18%
10 Yr 7.3%* -7.6% 20.0% 98.88%

* Annualized

Total Return Ranking - Calendar

Period MLSCX Return Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
2023 -1.7% -98.2% 781.7% 35.01%
2022 -32.0% -63.0% 340.3% 99.66%
2021 5.4% -9.1% 48.3% 97.57%
2020 -21.7% -76.3% 14.5% 75.00%
2019 12.4% -8.4% 42.0% 85.21%

NAV & Total Return History


MLSCX - Holdings

Concentration Analysis

MLSCX Category Low Category High MLSCX % Rank
Net Assets 17.9 M 183 K 28 B 94.22%
Number of Holdings 48 6 1336 88.91%
Net Assets in Top 10 5.17 M 59 K 2.7 B 94.06%
Weighting of Top 10 28.10% 4.7% 100.0% 28.53%

Top 10 Holdings

  1. Microsoft Corp 8.60%
  2. Alphabet Inc A 6.63%
  3. Amazon.com Inc 6.27%
  4. Visa Inc Class A 4.61%
  5. NextEra Energy Inc 4.00%
  6. CSX Corp 3.99%
  7. Trane Technologies PLC 3.95%
  8. Comcast Corp Class A 3.91%
  9. Comcast Corp Class A 3.91%
  10. Comcast Corp Class A 3.91%

Asset Allocation

Weighting Return Low Return High MLSCX % Rank
Stocks
96.97% 77.52% 101.30% 54.53%
Cash
3.03% -1.30% 22.49% 38.13%
Preferred Stocks
0.00% 0.00% 3.43% 31.41%
Other
0.00% -1.57% 20.21% 42.97%
Convertible Bonds
0.00% 0.00% 1.57% 29.69%
Bonds
0.00% 0.00% 3.19% 28.59%

Stock Sector Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High MLSCX % Rank
Industrials
26.31% 0.00% 36.64% 4.38%
Technology
20.66% 0.00% 75.51% 78.59%
Financial Services
18.26% 0.00% 100.00% 6.09%
Healthcare
10.03% 0.00% 58.05% 92.50%
Consumer Cyclical
9.58% 0.00% 40.68% 77.66%
Utilities
5.57% 0.00% 10.26% 0.63%
Consumer Defense
4.50% 0.00% 30.87% 36.72%
Communication Services
3.12% 0.00% 15.31% 31.72%
Real Estate
1.98% 0.00% 27.01% 50.94%
Energy
0.00% 0.00% 55.49% 80.47%
Basic Materials
0.00% 0.00% 11.17% 89.38%

Stock Geographic Breakdown

Weighting Return Low Return High MLSCX % Rank
US
81.97% 32.04% 99.56% 94.38%
Non US
15.00% 0.00% 46.32% 4.53%

MLSCX - Expenses

Operational Fees

MLSCX Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Expense Ratio 1.90% 0.03% 6.02% 10.68%
Management Fee 0.75% 0.05% 4.05% 37.56%
12b-1 Fee 1.00% 0.00% 1.00% 88.43%
Administrative Fee N/A 0.01% 0.40% 35.84%

Sales Fees

MLSCX Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Front Load N/A 3.50% 5.75% N/A
Deferred Load 1.00% 1.00% 5.50% 38.03%

Trading Fees

MLSCX Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Max Redemption Fee N/A 1.00% 2.00% 6.62%

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.

MLSCX Fees (% of AUM) Category Return Low Category Return High Rank in Category (%)
Turnover 157.35% 0.00% 461.00% 95.09%

MLSCX - Distributions

Dividend Yield Analysis

MLSCX Category Low Category High MLSCX % Rank
Dividend Yield 0.00% 0.00% 22.65% 12.56%

Dividend Distribution Analysis

MLSCX Category Low Category High Category Mod
Dividend Distribution Frequency Annually Annually Quarterly Annually

Net Income Ratio Analysis

MLSCX Category Low Category High MLSCX % Rank
Net Income Ratio -1.14% -5.42% 1.10% 79.68%

Capital Gain Distribution Analysis

MLSCX Category Low Category High Capital Mode
Capital Gain Distribution Frequency Annually Annually Annually Annually

Distributions History

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MLSCX - Fund Manager Analysis

Managers

Jason Kotik


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Dec 31, 2004

17.42

17.4%

Jason Kotik is an Investment Director on the North American Equity team at Aberdeen Standard Investments and a lead portfolio manager for the US Equity Small Cap Core strategy since its inception in 2008. Jason is responsible for US research coverage of transportation companies. Jason joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2007 following the acquisition of Nationwide Financial Services. Previously, Jason worked at Allied Investment Advisors and T. Rowe Price. Jason graduated from the University of Delaware and earned an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Ralph Bassett


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Dec 31, 2008

13.42

13.4%

Ralph Bassett is Head of North American Equities at abrdn and also is a member of the abrdn Board of Directors. Ralph oversees the region’s research effort in addition to portfolio construction for several of the team’s flagship strategies, including the Small Cap strategy since its inception in 2008. Ralph joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2006 upon the relocation of the Equity team from London to Philadelphia. Ralph earned a BS in Business, Finance (Hons) from Villanova University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Qie Zhang


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Dec 01, 2020

1.5

1.5%

Qie Zhang is an Investment Director on the North American Equity team at abrdn. In this role, Qie analyzes current and prospective investments and co-manages client portfolios. She is the Telecom, Media, Internet and Fintech sector analyst for the team. Qie joined abrdn in 2008 upon receiving her MBA degree from Columbia University. She previously worked for Bloomberg LP. Qie graduated with a BA from Franklin & Marshall College in Biology and Psychology. She is a CFA charterholder.

Tim Skiendzielewski


Start Date

Tenure

Tenure Rank

Dec 01, 2020

1.5

1.5%

Tim Skiendzielewski is an Investment Director on the North American Equity team at abrdn and a portfolio manager for the US Equity Small Cap Core Strategy since 2012. Tim is responsible for US research coverage of software, IT services, and healthcare IT companies. Tim joined Aberdeen in 2012 from Morgan Stanley. Previously, Tim worked for both Promontory Financial Group and Navigant Consulting. Tim graduated with a BS in Finance from Georgetown University and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a CFA charterholder.

Tenure Analysis

Category Low Category High Category Average Category Mode
0.08 30.44 8.81 0.33