Fund Evaluator:

Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc Overview

Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc (BBALX) is an actively managed Allocation Global Moderate Allocation fund. Northern Funds launched the fund in 1993.

The investment seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation and current income. The fund will generally seek exposure to a number of different asset classes based on an asset allocation framework developed by the Investment Policy Committee of Northern Trust. The asset classes in which it seeks to obtain exposure include but are not limited to small-, mid‑ and large-capitalization common stocks; real estate securities; commodity-related securities; mortgage- and asset-backed securities; and fixed-income securities, including high yield securities and money market instruments.

About Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc (BBALX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.92 years: Anwiti Bahuguna (2023), Peter Wilke (2025), Colin Cheesman (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc has 46 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 81.1% 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.

Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc has 24.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 42.7%. There is 23.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 33.0% (32.3% domestic bond, 0.7% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc has 0.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $63 million in total assets, which is below the $947 million average for the Global 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.

BBALX 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 Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Global Moderate Allocation category. Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc has an expense ratio of 0.49%, which is 53% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc has a portfolio turnover rate of 24%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 64% for the Global Moderate Allocation category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc returned 0.0%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Global 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.

Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc has a trailing yield of 2.71%, which is above the 2.61% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly 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.

Northern Global Tactical Asset Allc Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 7.5%, 0.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 15.0% over the past year (grade of C), 11.2% over the past three years (grade of D) and 5.7% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 6.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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