Fund Evaluator:

Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I Overview

Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I (CSMDX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Blend fund. Copeland Funds launched the fund in 2017.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation and income generation. The fund is primarily composed of common and preferred stocks, master limited partnership units ("MLPs") and equity real estate investment trusts ("REITs") of U.S. companies. Under normal market conditions, it invests at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in securities of small and mid-capitalization companies that pay a dividend and that have increased their dividend in the most recent annual period. The adviser sells securities when they fail to raise their dividend or no longer meet its fundamental stock selection criteria.

About Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I (CSMDX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.51 years: David McGonigle (2017), Eric Brown (2017), Mark Giovanniello (2017), Jeff Walkenhorst (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 2500 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I has 68 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.8% 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.

Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I has 4.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 95.3%. There is 4.1% 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). Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I has 0.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $112 million in total assets, which is below the $683 million average for the Small Blend 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.

CSMDX 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 Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Blend category. Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I has an expense ratio of 0.95%, which is 9% 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. Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I has a portfolio turnover rate of 66%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 66% for the Small Blend category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I returned -1.4%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Small Blend category had an average return of -0.1%. 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.

Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I has a trailing yield of 0.69%, which is above the 0.43% 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.

Copeland SMID Cap Dividend Growth I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 11.5%, 6.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 9.3% over the past year (grade of F), 7.2% over the past three years (grade of F) and 4.5% per year over the past five years (grade of F).

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