Fund Evaluator:

First American Multi-Manager FI Instl Overview

First American Multi-Manager FI Instl (FAFIX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Intermediate Core-Plus Bond fund. First American launched the fund in 2017.

The investment seeks to maximize total return (capital appreciation and income) consistent with reasonable risk. The fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in bonds and other fixed-income securities, and in derivatives and other instruments that have economic characteristics similar to such securities, and in ETFs and other registered investment companies investing in fixed income securities.

About First American Multi-Manager FI Instl (FAFIX)

There are 17 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.95 years: Philip Levy (2025), Andrew Hofer (2017), Neil Hohmann (2017), Gregory Peters (2017), Surya Pisapati (2017), Jason Sharpe (2025), Matthew Angelucci (2024), Jessica Zarzycki (2025), Chris Ling (2022), Robert Vanden Assem (2017), Tyler Thorn (2024), Patrick Mahoney (2023), Dana Burns (2017), James Palmer (2025), Richard Piccirillo (2017), Gregory Haendel (2025), Stephen Liberatore (2017). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First American Multi-Manager FI Instl has 2105 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 15.1% 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.

First American Multi-Manager FI Instl is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. First American Multi-Manager FI Instl has 14.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.4% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 98.2% (83.7% domestic bond, 14.5% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). First American Multi-Manager FI Instl has 1.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond 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.

FAFIX 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 First American Multi-Manager FI Instl expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category. First American Multi-Manager FI Instl has an expense ratio of 0.52%, which is 33% 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. First American Multi-Manager FI Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 76%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 181% for the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First American Multi-Manager FI Instl returned -1.2%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category had an average return of -1.3%. 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.

First American Multi-Manager FI Instl has a trailing yield of 4.45%, which is above the 4.36% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.

First American Multi-Manager FI Instl Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned -0.5%, 0.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 2.9% over the past year (grade of C), 4.3% over the past three years (grade of C) and 0.1% per year over the past five years (grade of B).

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