Fund Evaluator:
Clarkston Founders Founders (CFMDX)
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Best Performing in Mid-Cap Value Over the Last Year
| 41.4% | Fidelity Value Strategies (FSLSX) |
| 39.3% | Fidelity Advisor Mid Cap Value Z (FIDFX) |
| 39.2% | Fidelity Mid Cap Value (FSMVX) |
| 38.8% | Harbor Mid Cap Value Instl (HAMVX) |
| 38.3% | Harbor Mid Cap Value Investor (HIMVX) |
Fund Details
Clarkston Founders Founders Overview
Clarkston Founders Founders (CFMDX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Mid-Cap Value fund. Clarkston Funds launched the fund in 2021.
The investment seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests primarily in U.S.-traded equity securities of medium-capitalization companies. It will, however, also invest in equity securities of smaller or larger companies. The fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation while minimizing volatility and risk. To accomplish this goal, it invests in companies that the Adviser believes to be of high quality and believes to be undervalued relative to their expected long-term free cash flow. The fund is non-diversified.
About Clarkston Founders Founders (CFMDX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.50 years: Jeffrey Hakala (2017), Gerald Hakala (2017). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell Mid Cap TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Clarkston Founders Founders has 30 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 55.6% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Clarkston Founders Founders is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Clarkston Founders Founders has 13.8% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 84.2%. There is 13.8% 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). Clarkston Founders Founders has 2.1% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $12 million in total assets, which is below the $642 million average for the Mid-Cap Value 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.
CFMDX 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 Clarkston Founders Founders expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Mid-Cap Value category. Clarkston Founders Founders has an expense ratio of 0.80%, which is 23% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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. Clarkston Founders Founders has a portfolio turnover rate of 27%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 51% for the Mid-Cap Value category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Clarkston Founders Founders returned 6.9%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Mid-Cap Value category had an average return of 1.7%. 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.
Clarkston Founders Founders has a trailing yield of 0.35%, which is below the 0.87% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.
Clarkston Founders Founders Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 3.6%, 11.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 9.7% over the past year (grade of F), 6.3% over the past three years (grade of F) and 4.1% per year over the past five years (grade of F).
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CFMDX 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 |
|
| CFMDX Return (NAV) | 6.9% | 5.8% | 9.7% | 6.3% | 4.1% | na |
| CFMDX Grade | A | C | F | F | F | na |
| +/- Category | 5.3% | -0.2% | -13.4% | -7.1% | -5.3% | na |
| Mid-Cap Value Avg | 1.7% | 6.0% | 23.1% | 13.4% | 9.4% | 10.1% |
| CFMDX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.7% | na |
CFMDX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| CFMDX Return (NAV) | 3.6% | 7.4% | 5.8% | 10.6% | -3.6% | 6.3% | 23.2% | 23.7% | -7.8% | na | na |
| CFMDX Grade | F | D | F | D | A | F | A | D | A | na | na |
| +/- Category | -11.9% | -2.4% | -6.0% | -3.3% | 4.6% | -21.1% | 19.4% | -2.6% | 5.5% | na | na |
| Mid-Cap Value Avg | 15.5% | 9.9% | 11.8% | 13.9% | -8.2% | 27.5% | 3.8% | 26.3% | -13.4% | 14.1% | 17.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 11.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.95 - Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.79 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (1% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.61 |
| R-Squared: | 46% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $71 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 13 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 27% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 9.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 9.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Hakala Jeffrey (2017), Hakala Gerald (2017) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 30 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 55.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 13.8% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 84.2% |
| Foreign Stock: | 13.8% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 2.1% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Clarkston Funds |
| Phone Number: | 844-680-6562 |
| Website: | www.clarkstonfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | February 16, 2021 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $100,000,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| 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 (%): | 0.80% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.03% |
| Share Class: | Clarkston Founders Institutional |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
