Fund Evaluator:
North Square Strategic Income A (ADVAX)
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Fund Details
North Square Strategic Income A Overview
North Square Strategic Income A (ADVAX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Multisector Bond fund. North Square launched the fund in 2023.
The investment seeks high current income and to seek long-term capital appreciation. The fund pursues its investment objectives by primarily investing in preferred securities and other income producing securities, including convertible securities, debt securities, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, common stocks, derivatives, real estate investment trusts and securities of other investment companies such as closed-end funds and exchange traded funds. Under normal market conditions, it invests primarily in preferred securities and debt securities.
About North Square Strategic Income A (ADVAX)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.17 years: Jason Schwartz (2020), Julia Batchenko (2020), Brandon Bajema (2021), David Withrow (2020), John Cassady (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. North Square Strategic Income A has 248 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 14.5% 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.
North Square Strategic Income A is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. North Square Strategic Income A has 16.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 2.4%. There is 1.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 10.2% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 80.2% (65.4% domestic bond, 14.8% foreign bond and 4.5% convertible bond). North Square Strategic Income A has 3.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $7 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Multisector Bond 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.
ADVAX 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 North Square Strategic Income A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Multisector Bond category. North Square Strategic Income A has an expense ratio of 0.93%, which is 1% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. North Square Strategic Income A has a portfolio turnover rate of 97%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 157% for the Multisector Bond category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, North Square Strategic Income A returned 0.8%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Multisector Bond category had an average return of 0.5%. 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.
North Square Strategic Income A has a trailing yield of 3.83%, which is below the 5.31% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly 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.
North Square Strategic Income A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.0%, 0.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 4.1% over the past year (grade of B), 8.4% over the past three years (grade of A) and 3.5% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 4.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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ADVAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| ADVAX Return (NAV) | 0.8% | -0.4% | 4.1% | 8.4% | 3.5% | 4.3% |
| ADVAX Grade | A | D | B | A | A | A |
| +/- Category | 0.3% | -0.5% | 0.5% | 1.8% | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| Multisector Bond Avg | 0.5% | 0.1% | 3.6% | 6.6% | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| ADVAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.7% | 1.6% | na | na |
ADVAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ADVAX Return (NAV) | 1.0% | 11.0% | 9.5% | 4.7% | -8.6% | 5.0% | 11.4% | 10.8% | -2.2% | 5.8% | 1.8% |
| ADVAX Grade | D | A | A | F | B | A | A | C | C | D | F |
| +/- Category | -0.4% | 2.9% | 3.8% | -3.7% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 5.1% | 0.5% | -0.3% | -0.8% | -5.7% |
| Multisector Bond Avg | 1.4% | 8.1% | 5.7% | 8.4% | -10.1% | 2.2% | 6.3% | 10.3% | -1.9% | 6.6% | 7.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 5.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.45 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.23 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (88% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.88 |
| R-Squared: | 81% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 3.8% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1287 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 8 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 97% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 6.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Schwartz Jason (2020), Batchenko Julia (2020), Withrow David (2020), Cassady John (2020), Bajema Brandon (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 248 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 14.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 16.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 2.4% |
| Foreign Stock: | 1.2% |
| Preferred Stock: | 10.2% |
| Domestic Bond: | 65.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 14.8% |
| Convertible Bond: | 4.5% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 3.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | North Square |
| Phone Number: | 855-551-5521 |
| Website: |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | February 28, 2023 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $1,000 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 3.75% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.93% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.94% |
| Share Class: | North Square Strategic Income I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |
