Fund Evaluator:
GMO Alternative Allocation VI (GAAVX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Multistrategy Over the Last Year
| 35.9% | AQR Alternative Risk Premia N (QRPNX) |
| 21.4% | AQR Style Premia Alternative N (QSPNX) |
| 14.2% | Goldman Sachs Multi-Strategy Alts Inv (GIMMX) |
| 13.0% | AQR Diversifying Strategies N (QDSNX) |
| 12.7% | Blackstone Alternative Multi-Strategy Y (BXMYX) |
Fund Details
GMO Alternative Allocation VI Overview
GMO Alternative Allocation VI (GAAVX) is an actively managed Alternative Multistrategy fund. GMO launched the fund in 2019.
The investment seeks positive total return. The fund seeks annualized returns of 4% (net of fees) above cash (FTSE 3-Month Treasury Bill Index) over a complete market cycle by obtaining long and/or short exposures to a variety of investment styles (“Styles”) across the following asset groups: stocks, equity indices, bonds, interest rates, currencies and commodities (“Asset Groups”). Its long and short exposures to Styles and Asset Groups depend on GMO’s evaluation of investment opportunities.
About GMO Alternative Allocation VI (GAAVX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.47 years: John Thorndike (2021), B.J. Brannan (2019), Ben Inker (2019). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and FTSE Treasury Bill 3 Mon USD index with a weighting of 100%. GMO Alternative Allocation VI has 1739 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 54.2% 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.
GMO Alternative Allocation VI is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. GMO Alternative Allocation VI has 35.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 34.8%. There is 20.8% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 141.1% (126.1% domestic bond, 15.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). GMO Alternative Allocation VI has -107.3% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $758 million 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.
GAAVX 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 GMO Alternative Allocation VI expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Multistrategy category. GMO Alternative Allocation VI has an expense ratio of 2.74%, which is 33% 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. GMO Alternative Allocation VI has a portfolio turnover rate of 789%, 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, GMO Alternative Allocation VI returned 5.7%, which earned it a grade of A, 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.
GMO Alternative Allocation VI has a trailing yield of 4.70%, which is above the 2.97% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-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.
GMO Alternative Allocation VI Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 6.3%, 1.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 17.4% over the past year (grade of A), 7.3% over the past three years (grade of C) and 5.3% per year over the past five years (grade of B).
For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about GMO Alternative Allocation VI, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
GAAVX 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 |
|
| GAAVX Return (NAV) | 5.7% | 3.9% | 17.4% | 7.3% | 5.3% | na |
| GAAVX Grade | A | A | A | C | B | na |
| +/- Category | 4.9% | 2.1% | 6.5% | -0.4% | -0.0% | na |
| Multistrategy Avg | 0.8% | 1.8% | 10.8% | 7.7% | 5.3% | 3.7% |
| GAAVX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 3.4% | 2.7% | 1.7% | na |
GAAVX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| GAAVX Return (NAV) | 6.3% | 15.2% | -2.6% | 6.1% | 3.6% | -5.1% | -0.3% | na | na | na | na |
| GAAVX Grade | B | A | F | C | A | F | D | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 1.0% | 7.3% | -8.7% | -0.4% | 4.0% | -11.4% | -2.3% | na | na | 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: | 6.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.51 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.12 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (84% Rank) |
| Beta: | -0.07 |
| R-Squared: | 2% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Mid-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 4.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Semi-Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $890 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 759 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 789% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Brannan B.J. (2019), Inker Ben (2019), Thorndike John (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 2/28/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1739 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 54.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 35.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 34.8% |
| Foreign Stock: | 20.8% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 126.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 15.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 10.6% |
| Cash: | -107.3% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | GMO |
| Phone Number: | 617-346-7646 |
| Website: | www.gmo.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | May 1, 2019 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $300,000,000 |
| 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 (%): | 2.74% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 2.05% |
| Share Class: | GMO Alternative Allocation VI |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
