Fund Evaluator:
Tributary Small Company Instl Plus (FOSBX)
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Best Performing in Small Blend Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Tributary Small Company Instl Plus Overview
Tributary Small Company Instl Plus (FOSBX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Blend fund. Tributary Funds launched the fund in 2010.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Advisor intends to invest at least 80% of its assets in common stocks and securities that can be converted into common stocks, such as convertible bonds, convertible preferred stocks, options, and rights, of companies with small market capitalization. A company's market capitalization is generally considered "small" if it is less than $7 billion.
About Tributary Small Company Instl Plus (FOSBX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 22.97 years: Michael Johnson (2007), Mark Wynegar (1999). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 2000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 Value TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Tributary Small Company Instl Plus has 64 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 27.8% 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.
Tributary Small Company Instl Plus is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Tributary Small Company Instl Plus has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.0%. There is 0.0% 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). Tributary Small Company Instl Plus has 2.0% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $616 million in total assets, which is below the $685 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.
FOSBX 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 Tributary Small Company Instl Plus expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Blend category. Tributary Small Company Instl Plus 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. Tributary Small Company Instl Plus has a portfolio turnover rate of 31%, 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 July 2026, Tributary Small Company Instl Plus returned -1.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Small Blend category had an average return of -2.8%. 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.
Tributary Small Company Instl Plus has a trailing yield of 0.48%, which is above the 0.42% 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.
Tributary Small Company Instl Plus Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 26.2%, 8.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 27.6% over the past year (grade of C), 10.9% over the past three years (grade of D) and 8.6% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 9.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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FOSBX 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 |
|
| FOSBX Return (NAV) | -1.8% | 6.3% | 27.6% | 10.9% | 8.6% | 9.5% |
| FOSBX Grade | B | B | C | D | B | D |
| +/- Category | 1.0% | 1.1% | -0.7% | -2.5% | 1.0% | -0.8% |
| Small Blend Avg | -2.8% | 5.2% | 28.3% | 13.5% | 7.6% | 10.3% |
| FOSBX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.8% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 1.5% |
FOSBX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FOSBX Return (NAV) | 26.2% | -3.5% | 9.6% | 17.0% | -12.7% | 32.6% | 1.4% | 23.4% | -10.5% | 8.8% | 25.2% |
| FOSBX Grade | A | F | D | C | A | A | F | D | B | F | A |
| +/- Category | 8.0% | -11.4% | -1.9% | 0.6% | 3.9% | 9.4% | -12.9% | -2.0% | 1.3% | -5.3% | 5.0% |
| Small Blend Avg | 18.2% | 7.9% | 11.6% | 16.5% | -16.5% | 23.2% | 14.4% | 25.5% | -11.8% | 14.1% | 20.2% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 19.3% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.57 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.04 - Above Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | D (71% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.05 |
| R-Squared: | 50% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.5% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $655 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 616 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 31% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 27.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 23.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Wynegar Mark (1999), Johnson Michael (2007) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 64 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 27.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 98.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 2.0% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Tributary Funds |
| Phone Number: | 800-662-4203 |
| Website: | www.tributaryfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 17, 2010 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $5,000,000 |
| 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 (%): | 0.95% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.05% |
| Share Class: | Tributary Small Company Instl |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
