Fund Evaluator:
FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I (FSMSX)
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Best Performing in Multistrategy Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I Overview
FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I (FSMSX) is an actively managed Alternative Multistrategy fund. Future Standard launched the fund in 2017.
The investment seeks to provide shareholders with positive absolute returns over a complete market cycle. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by actively allocating its assets across a broad spectrum of alternative investment strategies. It will seek to provide exposure to alternative strategies with low correlation to traditional equity and fixed income markets, which can enhance portfolio diversification. The strategy will be implemented through a rigorous quantitative and qualitative process intended to select high quality Underlying Managers and Alternative Beta Strategies. The fund is non-diversified.
About FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I (FSMSX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.21 years: Scott Burr (2017), Michael Kelly (2017). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US 3M Trsy Bill TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I has 853 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 407.1% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I has 24.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is -2.9%. There is -0.7% allocated to foreign stock, and 1.5% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 35.3% (9.9% domestic bond, 25.4% foreign bond and 9.6% convertible bond). FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I has 57.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $511 million average for the Multistrategy 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.
FSMSX 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 FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Multistrategy category. FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I has an expense ratio of 2.02%, which is 2% lower 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. FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I has a portfolio turnover rate of 636%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 289% for the Multistrategy category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I returned 0.4%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Multistrategy category had an average return of 0.8%. 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.
FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I has a trailing yield of 2.29%, which is below the 2.97% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.
FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 3.7%, 1.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 6.0% over the past year (grade of D), 4.9% over the past three years (grade of F) and 5.2% per year over the past five years (grade of B).
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FSMSX 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 |
|
| FSMSX Return (NAV) | 0.4% | 0.9% | 6.0% | 4.9% | 5.2% | na |
| FSMSX Grade | D | D | D | F | B | na |
| +/- Category | -0.4% | -0.9% | -4.9% | -2.8% | -0.1% | na |
| Multistrategy Avg | 0.8% | 1.8% | 10.8% | 7.7% | 5.3% | 3.7% |
| FSMSX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.4% | na |
FSMSX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FSMSX Return (NAV) | 3.7% | 4.3% | 4.5% | 5.4% | 3.2% | 14.0% | -3.7% | 7.8% | -3.8% | na | na |
| FSMSX Grade | D | D | D | C | B | A | F | B | C | na | na |
| +/- Category | -1.6% | -3.5% | -1.6% | -1.0% | 3.6% | 7.7% | -5.7% | 0.8% | 1.0% | na | na |
| Multistrategy Avg | 5.3% | 7.8% | 6.1% | 6.4% | -0.4% | 6.2% | 2.0% | 7.0% | -4.9% | 5.0% | 2.0% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 2.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.20 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.45 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (8% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.09 |
| R-Squared: | 22% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 2.3% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $1418 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $1,385 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 636% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 9.2 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 9.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Burr Scott (2017), Kelly Michael (2017) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/25)
| # of Holdings: | 853 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 407.1% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 24.7% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | -2.9% |
| Foreign Stock: | -0.7% |
| Preferred Stock: | 1.5% |
| Domestic Bond: | 9.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 25.4% |
| Convertible Bond: | 9.6% |
| Other: | -0.1% |
| Cash: | 57.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Future Standard |
| Phone Number: | 877-924-4766 |
| Website: | www.fsinvestments.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | May 16, 2017 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $100,000 |
| 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: | 0.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 2.02% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 2.05% |
| Share Class: | FS Multi-Strategy Alternatives I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
