Fund Evaluator:
Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A (BEARX)
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Best Performing in Trading--Inverse Equity Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A Overview
Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A (BEARX) is an actively managed Miscellaneous Trading--Inverse Equity fund. Federated launched the fund in 1995.
The investment seeks capital appreciation. The fund pursues its investment objective primarily through short positions in domestically traded equity securities and indices. It holds short-term liquid securities such as money market funds, U.S. Treasury securities, government agency securities or other equity securities for liquidity purposes and to cover its obligation to purchase securities subject to short sales in the future. The fund also seeks capital appreciation through long positions on equity securities which the fund's adviser believes are undervalued.
About Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A (BEARX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 14.09 years: Chad Hudson (2009), P. Ryan Bend (2008), Dana Meissner (2018). 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 S&P 500 Inverse Daily TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A has 198 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 366.5% 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.
Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A is part of the Other global asset class and is within the Miscellaneous fund group. Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A has 3.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is -184.2%. There is 3.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A has 280.8% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $25 million in total assets, which is above the $4 million average for the Trading--Inverse Equity 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.
BEARX 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 Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Trading--Inverse Equity category. Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A has an expense ratio of 2.70%, which is 38% 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. Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A has a portfolio turnover rate of 249%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 436% for the Trading--Inverse Equity category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A returned 1.7%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Trading--Inverse Equity category had an average return of -0.6%. 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.
Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A has a trailing yield of 7.25%, which is above the 6.95% 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.
Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned -8.1%, 6.9 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned -14.5% over the past year (grade of B), -12.3% over the past three years (grade of B) and -10.0% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and -13.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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BEARX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| BEARX Return (NAV) | 1.7% | -12.3% | -14.5% | -12.3% | -10.0% | -13.7% |
| BEARX Grade | B | B | B | B | B | B |
| +/- Category | 2.4% | 4.7% | 11.3% | 7.7% | 4.8% | 7.7% |
| Trading--Inverse Equity Avg | -0.6% | -17.0% | -25.7% | -20.0% | -14.8% | -21.5% |
| BEARX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.6% | 3.7% | 2.2% | 1.2% |
BEARX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| BEARX Return (NAV) | -8.1% | -11.8% | -12.3% | -18.7% | 17.8% | -23.8% | -22.9% | -20.0% | -6.0% | -15.8% | -13.4% |
| BEARX Grade | B | B | B | C | B | C | A | A | F | B | B |
| +/- Category | 6.9% | 9.8% | 1.6% | 5.1% | 1.4% | -2.7% | 18.0% | 11.9% | -13.2% | 13.1% | 8.9% |
| Trading--Inverse Equity Avg | -15.0% | -21.5% | -13.9% | -23.7% | 16.4% | -21.1% | -41.0% | -31.9% | 7.3% | -28.9% | -22.3% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 12.3% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.01 - Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.54 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (15% Rank) |
| Beta: | -0.94 |
| R-Squared: | 98% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | Yes |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Growth |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 7.3% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $89 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 25 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 249% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 17.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 14.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Bend P. Ryan (2008), Hudson Chad (2009), Meissner Dana (2018) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 198 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 366.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 3.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | -184.2% |
| Foreign Stock: | 3.4% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 280.8% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Federated |
| Phone Number: | 800-341-7400 |
| Website: | www.federatedInvestors.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 28, 1995 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,500 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 250 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 5.50% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 2.70% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.96% |
| Share Class: | Federated Hermes Prudent Bear A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |
