Fund Evaluator:
Dunham Monthly Distribution C (DCMDX)
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Best Performing in Event Driven Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Dunham Monthly Distribution C Overview
Dunham Monthly Distribution C (DCMDX) is an actively managed Alternative Event Driven fund. Dunham Funds launched the fund in 2008.
The investment seeks to provide positive returns in rising and falling market environments. The sub-adviser seeks to achieve attractive absolute returns by utilizing an event driven strategy across a diversified set of equities while actively managing risk to preserve capital, minimize volatility, and maintain liquidity. The sub-adviser generally seeks to accomplish this objective by investing in equities (including common stock, initial public offerings (“IPOs”) and other new issues) and equity-related securities (including preferred stock, options, swaps, forwards and warrants) across a diversified range of industries.
About Dunham Monthly Distribution C (DCMDX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.08 years: Cole Weppner (2025), Doug Francis (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P Merger Arbitrage TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100%. Dunham Monthly Distribution C has 58 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 54.8% 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.
Dunham Monthly Distribution C is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. Dunham Monthly Distribution C has 11.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 33.7%. There is 11.9% 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). Dunham Monthly Distribution C has 54.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $9 million in total assets, which is below the $329 million average for the Event Driven 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.
DCMDX 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 Dunham Monthly Distribution C expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Event Driven category. Dunham Monthly Distribution C has an expense ratio of 3.03%, which is 58% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. 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. Dunham Monthly Distribution C has a portfolio turnover rate of 377%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 218% for the Event Driven category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Dunham Monthly Distribution C returned -0.6%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Event Driven category had an average return of 0.0%. 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.
Dunham Monthly Distribution C has a trailing yield of 12.25%, which is above the 2.23% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains 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.
Dunham Monthly Distribution C Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.9%, 1.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 3.1% over the past year (grade of F), 4.7% over the past three years (grade of F) and 3.3% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 2.2% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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DCMDX 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 |
|
| DCMDX Return (NAV) | -0.6% | -0.7% | 3.1% | 4.7% | 3.3% | 2.2% |
| DCMDX Grade | F | F | F | F | D | F |
| +/- Category | -0.6% | -1.4% | -2.9% | -1.6% | -0.6% | -2.1% |
| Event Driven Avg | 0.0% | 0.7% | 6.0% | 6.3% | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| DCMDX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 4.6% | 4.9% | 4.2% | 3.1% |
DCMDX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| DCMDX Return (NAV) | 0.9% | 7.1% | 4.4% | 3.3% | -0.2% | -0.6% | -0.3% | 3.9% | -1.4% | 3.3% | 3.4% |
| DCMDX Grade | F | D | C | F | B | F | F | F | F | D | C |
| +/- Category | -1.5% | -1.8% | 0.2% | -1.5% | 1.4% | -3.0% | -8.1% | -3.1% | -4.5% | -1.3% | 0.5% |
| Event Driven Avg | 2.4% | 8.9% | 4.2% | 4.8% | -1.6% | 2.4% | 7.7% | 7.0% | 3.1% | 4.6% | 2.8% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 2.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.18 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.59 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (29% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.07 |
| R-Squared: | 17% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 12.3% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Monthly |
| Total Assets: | $309 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 10 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | C |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 377% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Francis Doug (2021), Weppner Cole (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 58 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 54.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 11.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 33.7% |
| Foreign Stock: | 11.9% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 54.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Dunham Funds |
| Phone Number: | 888-338-6426 |
| Website: | www.dunham.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | August 1, 2008 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $5,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $2,000 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 1.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 3.03% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.92% |
| Share Class: | Dunham Monthly Distribution A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |
