Fund Evaluator:
Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor (IPFCX)
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Best Performing in Moderately Aggressive Allocation Over the Last Year
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| 23.2% | Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor (IPFCX) |
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Fund Details
Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor Overview
Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor (IPFCX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderately Aggressive Allocation fund. Poplar Forest Capital launched the fund in 2014.
The investment seeks to achieve current income and long-term growth of capital. The fund seeks to deliver superior, risk-adjusted returns over full market cycles, by building a balanced portfolio of debt and equity securities that aims to generate returns that exceed the Consumer Price Index by 3% per year while preserving capital. A full market cycle is deemed to be a multi-year period including a period of material increase in the U.S. stock market (a "bull market") and a period of material decline in the U.S. stock market (a "bear market").
About Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor (IPFCX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.50 years: J. Dale Harvey (2014), Derek Derman (2014). 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 Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor has 68 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 28.9% 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.
Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 58.8%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 2.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 35.9% (35.9% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor has 3.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $38 million in total assets, which is below the $545 million average for the Moderately Aggressive Allocation 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.
IPFCX 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 Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderately Aggressive Allocation category. Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor has an expense ratio of 0.90%, which is 12% 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. Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor has a portfolio turnover rate of 29%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 34% for the Moderately Aggressive Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor returned 2.3%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Moderately Aggressive Allocation category had an average return of 0.5%. 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.
Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor has a trailing yield of 2.30%, which is above the 1.55% 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.
Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 13.1%, 2.9 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 23.2% over the past year (grade of A), 14.5% over the past three years (grade of D) and 9.1% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 9.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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IPFCX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| IPFCX Return (NAV) | 2.3% | 11.7% | 23.2% | 14.5% | 9.1% | 9.4% |
| IPFCX Grade | A | D | A | D | C | F |
| +/- Category | 1.8% | 0.1% | 3.2% | -1.9% | 0.2% | -1.2% |
| Moderately Aggressive Allocation Avg | 0.5% | 11.6% | 20.1% | 16.4% | 8.9% | 10.6% |
| IPFCX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 1.8% |
IPFCX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| IPFCX Return (NAV) | 13.1% | 16.2% | 6.7% | 6.6% | -1.3% | 30.0% | 4.3% | 16.6% | -10.5% | 6.0% | 18.9% |
| IPFCX Grade | A | C | F | F | A | A | F | F | F | F | A |
| +/- Category | 2.9% | 0.2% | -9.0% | -10.0% | 14.5% | 12.0% | -8.8% | -6.0% | -3.4% | -11.3% | 9.7% |
| Moderately Aggressive Allocation Avg | 10.2% | 16.0% | 15.7% | 16.6% | -15.8% | 18.0% | 13.1% | 22.6% | -7.1% | 17.3% | 9.1% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 9.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.78 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.85 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (6% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.89 |
| R-Squared: | 77% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Mid-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 2.3% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $38 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 38 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 29% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 11.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 11.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Harvey J. Dale (2014), Derman Derek (2014) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 68 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 28.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 58.8% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 2.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 35.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 3.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Poplar Forest Capital |
| Phone Number: | 877-522-8860 |
| Website: | www.poplarforestfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 31, 2014 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $25,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $5,000 |
| 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 (%): | 0.90% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.02% |
| Share Class: | Poplar Forest Cornerstone Investor |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $1,000 |
