Fund Evaluator:
North Star Bond I (NSBDX)
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Best Performing in Nontraditional Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
North Star Bond I Overview
North Star Bond I (NSBDX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Nontraditional Bond fund. North Star launched the fund in 2014.
The investment seeks to generate income, with preservation of capital as a secondary objective. The fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of bonds. Bonds include debt securities such as bond, notes, bills and debentures. The fund may invest in bonds of any maturity, duration or quality, including those that are rated below investment grade (i.e., "junk bonds") without limitation. It may also invest up to 20% of its assets in equity securities of companies of any size, including preferred stock.
About North Star Bond I (NSBDX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.95 years: Peter Gottlieb (2014), Bradley Cohen (2014), Eric Kuby (2014). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg Ba to B U.S. High Yield TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. North Star Bond I has 36 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 39.4% 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.
North Star Bond I is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. North Star Bond I has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 15.8% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 80.3% (80.3% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 1.3% convertible bond). North Star Bond I has 2.7% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $36 million in total assets, which is below the $667 million average for the Nontraditional 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.
NSBDX 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 North Star Bond I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Nontraditional Bond category. North Star Bond I has an expense ratio of 1.57%, which is 10% higher 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. North Star Bond I has a portfolio turnover rate of 34%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 306% for the Nontraditional Bond category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, North Star Bond I returned 0.6%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Nontraditional Bond 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.
North Star Bond I has a trailing yield of 4.19%, which is below the 4.93% 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.
North Star Bond I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.4%, 0.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 3.6% over the past year (grade of C), 4.7% over the past three years (grade of D) and 1.9% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 2.2% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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NSBDX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| NSBDX Return (NAV) | 0.6% | 1.4% | 3.6% | 4.7% | 1.9% | 2.2% |
| NSBDX Grade | B | A | C | D | D | D |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 1.0% | -0.3% | -1.1% | -0.6% | -0.9% |
| Nontraditional Bond Avg | 0.5% | 0.5% | 3.9% | 5.8% | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| NSBDX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
NSBDX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| NSBDX Return (NAV) | 2.4% | 4.1% | 5.2% | 6.1% | -7.2% | 2.8% | 0.7% | 9.4% | -3.5% | 3.0% | 7.5% |
| NSBDX Grade | B | F | D | D | D | B | F | A | F | D | B |
| +/- Category | 0.7% | -2.7% | -0.3% | -0.5% | -1.2% | 1.5% | -4.7% | 2.8% | -2.7% | -1.0% | 1.0% |
| Nontraditional Bond Avg | 1.8% | 6.8% | 5.4% | 6.5% | -6.0% | 1.3% | 5.4% | 6.5% | -0.8% | 4.1% | 6.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 2.1% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.17 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.58 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (15% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.28 |
| R-Squared: | 59% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 4.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $36 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 36 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 34% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 12.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 12.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Gottlieb Peter (2014), Cohen Bradley (2014), Kuby Eric (2014) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 36 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 39.4% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 15.8% |
| Domestic Bond: | 80.3% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 1.3% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 2.7% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | North Star |
| Phone Number: | 855-580-0900 |
| Website: | www.nsinvest.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 19, 2014 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $5,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 2.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.57% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.42% |
| Share Class: | North Star Bond I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 500 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
