Fund Evaluator:

MFS Total Return C Overview

MFS Total Return C (MTRCX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderate Allocation fund. MFS launched the fund in 1994.

The investment seeks total return. The fund invests its assets in equity securities and debt instruments. Equity securities include common stocks, depositary receipts, and other securities that represent an ownership interest (or right to acquire an ownership interest) in a company or other issuer. Debt instruments include corporate bonds, U.S. government securities, securitized instruments (including mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed securities), and other obligations to repay money borrowed. MFS generally invests approximately 60% of the fund’s assets in equity securities and approximately 40% of the fund's assets in debt instruments.

About MFS Total Return C (MTRCX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.15 years: Joshua Marston (2008), Alexander Mackey (2019), Philipp Burgener (2026), Johnathan Munko (2019), Steven Gorham (2002). 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%. MFS Total Return C has 973 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 19.6% 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.

MFS Total Return C is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. MFS Total Return C has 9.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 54.1%. There is 4.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.7% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 46.4% (41.5% domestic bond, 4.9% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). MFS Total Return C has -5.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $134 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Moderate 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.

MTRCX 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 MFS Total Return C expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderate Allocation category. MFS Total Return C has an expense ratio of 1.47%, which is 48% 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. MFS Total Return C has a portfolio turnover rate of 41%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 52% for the Moderate Allocation category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, MFS Total Return C returned 2.6%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Moderate Allocation category had an average return of -0.3%. 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.

MFS Total Return C has a trailing yield of 1.62%, which is below the 1.97% 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.

MFS Total Return C Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 5.6%, 0.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 11.0% over the past year (grade of D), 8.6% over the past three years (grade of F) and 4.6% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 6.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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