Fund Evaluator:

Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl Overview

Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl (MDCEX) is an actively managed Allocation Global Moderately Aggressive Allocation fund. Matisse Funds launched the fund in 2012.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation and income. The fund is a "fund of funds" that seeks to achieve its investment objectives principally through investments in unaffiliated closed-end funds that pay regular periodic cash distributions, the interests of which typically trade at substantial discounts relative to their underlying net asset values. The fund's investment advisor believes this approach is capable of generating capital appreciation and income. As a matter of investment policy, the fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in discounted closed-end funds.

About Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl (MDCEX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.25 years: Bryn Torkelson (2012), Joe Torkelson (2026), Eric Boughton (2012). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Morningstar Gbl Allocation TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and SNET Composite Closed-End TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl has 30 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 50.5% 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.

Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl has 27.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 51.5%. There is 25.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.4% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 6.5% (4.4% domestic bond, 2.2% foreign bond and 0.2% convertible bond). Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl has 8.8% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $76 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Global 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.

MDCEX 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 Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Global Moderately Aggressive Allocation category. Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl has an expense ratio of 3.20%, which is 220% 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. Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl 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 32% for the Global Moderately Aggressive Allocation category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl returned 3.9%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Global Moderately Aggressive Allocation category had an average return of 1.6%. 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.

Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl has a trailing yield of 6.35%, which is above the 1.95% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly 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.

Matisse Discounted Cl-End Fd Strat Instl Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 8.4%, 3.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 14.4% over the past year (grade of F), 20.3% over the past three years (grade of A) and 13.6% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 11.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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