Fund Evaluator:
Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr (ACEFX)
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Best Performing in Multistrategy Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr Overview
Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr (ACEFX) is an actively managed Alternative Multistrategy fund. Absolute Investment Advisers launched the fund in 2005.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute returns and low sensitivity to traditional financial market indices such as the Standard & Poor's 500® Index. The fund manager believes that there are important benefits that come from pursuing the fund’s investment objective by primarily investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) will be investments in publicly traded closed-end funds (“CEFs”), including buying securities issued by CEFs, or selling short CEF securities.
About Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr (ACEFX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.00 years: Kevin McNally (2025), Patty Santorella (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr has 52 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 94.4% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr has 6.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 15.8%. There is 7.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 3.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is -2.5% (-2.0% domestic bond, -0.6% foreign bond and 0.1% convertible bond). Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr has 74.9% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $4 million in total assets, which is below the $511 million average for the Multistrategy category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
ACEFX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Multistrategy category. Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr has an expense ratio of 4.43%, which is 116% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr has a portfolio turnover rate of 389%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 289% for the Multistrategy category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr returned 0.1%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Multistrategy category had an average return of 0.8%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr has a trailing yield of 0.69%, which is below the 2.97% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 5.7%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 10.7% over the past year (grade of C), 3.4% over the past three years (grade of F) and -0.4% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and -2.2% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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ACEFX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| ACEFX Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 2.2% | 10.7% | 3.4% | -0.4% | -2.2% |
| ACEFX Grade | D | B | C | F | F | F |
| +/- Category | -0.6% | 0.4% | -0.1% | -4.3% | -5.7% | -5.9% |
| Multistrategy Avg | 0.8% | 1.8% | 10.8% | 7.7% | 5.3% | 3.7% |
| ACEFX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.3% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% |
ACEFX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ACEFX Return (NAV) | 5.7% | 9.2% | -5.3% | -11.8% | 8.5% | -13.9% | 0.7% | -3.4% | 1.3% | -8.4% | 2.6% |
| ACEFX Grade | C | B | F | F | A | F | D | F | A | F | C |
| +/- Category | 0.4% | 1.4% | -11.5% | -18.2% | 8.9% | -20.2% | -1.3% | -10.4% | 6.2% | -13.4% | 0.7% |
| Multistrategy Avg | 5.3% | 7.8% | 6.1% | 6.4% | -0.4% | 6.2% | 2.0% | 7.0% | -4.9% | 5.0% | 2.0% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.50 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.10 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (81% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.04 |
| R-Squared: | 1% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 0.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $4 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 5 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 389% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 1.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 1.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): McNally Kevin (2025), Santorella Patty (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 52 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 94.4% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 6.7% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 15.8% |
| Foreign Stock: | 7.2% |
| Preferred Stock: | 3.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | -2.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | -0.6% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.1% |
| Other: | 1.4% |
| Cash: | 74.9% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Absolute Investment Advisers |
| Phone Number: | 888-992-2765 |
| Website: |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | July 27, 2005 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $25,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $25,000 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 4.43% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 2.05% |
| Share Class: | Absolute CEF Opportunities Instl Shr |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
