Fund Evaluator:

Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp Overview

Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp (NMHYX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond High Yield Bond fund. Northern Funds launched the fund in 2009.

The investment seeks total return consisting of a combination of income and capital appreciation. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in bonds and other fixed-income securities that are rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bonds"). The adviser utilizes a "multi-manager" approach whereby the fund's assets are allocated to one or more sub-advisers, in percentages determined at the discretion of the fund's investment adviser. Although the fund primarily invests in the debt obligations of domestic issuers, it may invest in debt obligations of foreign issuers.

About Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp (NMHYX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.11 years: Luis Diez (2023), Neal Barrett (2023). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Universal TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US HY Constnd TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp has 1480 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 13.9% 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.

Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp has 9.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 4.4%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.9% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 90.7% (81.4% domestic bond, 9.3% foreign bond and 0.3% convertible bond). Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp has 3.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $143 million in total assets, which is below the $545 million average for the High Yield Bond 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.

NMHYX 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 Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the High Yield Bond category. Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp has an expense ratio of 0.69%, which is 25% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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. Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp has a portfolio turnover rate of 53%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 71% for the High Yield Bond category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp returned 0.3%, which earned it a grade of B, as the High Yield Bond category had an average return of 0.2%. 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.

Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp has a trailing yield of 7.18%, which is above the 6.26% 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.

Northern Multi-Manager Hi Yld Opp Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 1.6%, 0.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 4.8% over the past year (grade of D), 7.9% over the past three years (grade of D) and 3.9% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 5.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).

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