Fund Evaluator:

MainGate MLP I Overview

MainGate MLP I (IMLPX) is an actively managed Sector Equity Energy Limited Partnership fund. MainGate Trust launched the fund in 2011.

The investment seeks total return. The fund seeks to generate total return, comprised of capital appreciation and income, by investing in master limited partnership interests. It seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in MLP interests under normal circumstances. MLPs are publicly traded partnerships primarily engaged in the transportation, storage, processing, refining, marketing, exploration, production, and mining of minerals and natural resources. Under normal circumstances, the fund concentrates its investments in MLPs in the energy sector. It is non-diversified.

About MainGate MLP I (IMLPX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 15.46 years: Matthew Mead (2011), Geoffrey Mavar (2011). 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 Alerian MLP TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. MainGate MLP I has 18 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 92.8% 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.

MainGate MLP I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity fund group. MainGate MLP I has 0.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.3%. There is 0.4% 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). MainGate MLP I has 0.3% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $813 million in total assets, which is above the $288 million average for the Energy Limited Partnership 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.

IMLPX 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 MainGate MLP I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Energy Limited Partnership category. MainGate MLP I has an expense ratio of 1.45%, which is 15% 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. MainGate MLP I has a portfolio turnover rate of 25%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 40% for the Energy Limited Partnership category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, MainGate MLP I returned 4.1%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Energy Limited Partnership category had an average return of 3.5%. 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.

MainGate MLP I has a trailing yield of 4.49%, which is below the 5.20% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

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.

MainGate MLP I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 25.0%, 1.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 24.4% over the past year (grade of D), 22.2% over the past three years (grade of D) and 23.8% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 9.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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