Fund Evaluator:

MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 Overview

MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 (DVRFX) is an actively managed Alternative Macro Trading fund. MFS launched the fund in 2007.

The investment seeks total return. The fund seeks to achieve a total rate of return for the fund that meets or exceeds the ICE BofA 0-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index plus 2% to 4%, net of fund expenses, over a full market cycle. The fund normally has exposure to at least three different countries and typically has significant long and/or short exposure to foreign securities and foreign currencies. The fund generally invests approximately 20% of the fund's assets in debt instruments and the remainder of the fund's assets in equity securities and cash and/or cash equivalents.

About MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 (DVRFX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.92 years: Ben Nastou (2014), Natalie Shapiro (2007), Erich Shigley (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI World NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg 1-3 Yr US Treasury TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 has 1335 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 72.9% 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.

MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 has 19.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 16.7%. There is 19.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 17.9% (17.4% domestic bond, 0.5% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 has 45.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $213 million in total assets, which is below the $296 million average for the Macro Trading 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.

DVRFX 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 MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Macro Trading category. MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 has an expense ratio of 2.05%, which is 29% 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. MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 has a portfolio turnover rate of 47%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 95% for the Macro Trading category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 returned 1.2%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Macro Trading 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.

MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 has a trailing yield of 0.22%, which is below the 1.90% 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.

MFS Global Alternative Strategy R1 Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 2.1%, 3.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 4.2% over the past year (grade of F), 7.8% over the past three years (grade of C) and 4.3% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 4.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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