Fund Evaluator:
ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv (ALIBX)
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Best Performing in Moderate Allocation Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv Overview
ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv (ALIBX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderate Allocation fund. ALPS launched the fund in 2020.
The investment seeks long-term capital growth, consistent with preservation of capital and balanced by current income. The fund pursues its investment objective by normally investing 60% of its assets in equity securities and 40% of its assets in fixed-income securities and cash equivalents. Equity securities in which the fund may invest include common stocks and preferred stocks. Its fixed-income investments may reflect a broad range of credit qualities and may include corporate debt securities, U.S. government obligations, agency mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and bank loans.
About ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv (ALIBX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.88 years: Laton Spahr (2020), Eric Hewitt (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US 1000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv has 59 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 54.0% 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.
ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv has 5.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 68.2%. There is 4.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.5% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 25.9% (25.0% domestic bond, 0.8% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv has 1.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $762 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Moderate Allocation 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.
ALIBX 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 ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderate Allocation category. ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv has an expense ratio of 1.15%, which is 16% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv has a portfolio turnover rate of 44%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 52% for the Moderate Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv returned -1.7%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Moderate Allocation category had an average return of -0.3%. 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.
ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv has a trailing yield of 1.34%, which is below the 1.97% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
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.
ALPS Balanced Opportunity Inv Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 8.3%, 1.9 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 16.0% over the past year (grade of A), 13.6% over the past three years (grade of A) and 7.4% per year over the past five years (grade of B).
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ALIBX 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 |
|
| ALIBX Return (NAV) | -1.7% | 2.7% | 16.0% | 13.6% | 7.4% | na |
| ALIBX Grade | F | B | A | A | B | na |
| +/- Category | -1.4% | 0.5% | 3.0% | 1.6% | 0.7% | na |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | -0.3% | 2.1% | 13.1% | 12.0% | 6.6% | 8.5% |
| ALIBX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.3% | 1.9% | 1.3% | na |
ALIBX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ALIBX Return (NAV) | 8.3% | 13.2% | 15.3% | 16.4% | -16.2% | 15.5% | na | na | na | na | na |
| ALIBX Grade | A | C | A | B | D | B | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 1.9% | -0.2% | 3.1% | 2.1% | -2.2% | 1.2% | na | na | na | na | na |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | 6.4% | 13.4% | 12.2% | 14.3% | -14.0% | 14.4% | 12.9% | 19.8% | -5.1% | 13.8% | 7.7% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 9.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.79 - Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.05 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (83% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.96 |
| R-Squared: | 86% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 1.3% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $12 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 1 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inv |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 44% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.9 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.9 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Spahr Laton (2020), Hewitt Eric (2020) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 59 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 54.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 5.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 68.2% |
| Foreign Stock: | 4.3% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.5% |
| Domestic Bond: | 25.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.8% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | ALPS |
| Phone Number: | 866-759-5679 |
| Website: |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | September 15, 2020 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,500 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 500 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.15% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.99% |
| Share Class: | ALPS Balanced Opportunity I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
