Fund Evaluator:
Rational Special Situations Income Instl (RFXIX)
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Fund Details
Rational Special Situations Income Instl Overview
Rational Special Situations Income Instl (RFXIX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Nontraditional Bond fund. Rational Funds launched the fund in 2019.
The investment seeks total return consisting of capital appreciation and income. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in agency and non-agency residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, with a focus on non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities. It does not limit its investments to a particular credit quality and may invest without limitation in debt securities rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk" bonds). The fund is non-diversified.
About Rational Special Situations Income Instl (RFXIX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.04 years: William Van de Water (2019), Eric Meyer (2019). 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 US MBS TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Rational Special Situations Income Instl has 959 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 27.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Rational Special Situations Income Instl is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Rational Special Situations Income Instl has 2.3% 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 0.7% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 90.7% (88.4% domestic bond, 2.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Rational Special Situations Income Instl has 8.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $663 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.
RFXIX 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 Rational Special Situations Income Instl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Nontraditional Bond category. Rational Special Situations Income Instl has an expense ratio of 1.77%, which is 25% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. Rational Special Situations Income Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 11%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 304% for the Nontraditional Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Rational Special Situations Income Instl returned 0.1%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Nontraditional 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.
Rational Special Situations Income Instl has a trailing yield of 5.24%, which is above the 4.94% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
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.
Rational Special Situations Income Instl Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.2%, 1.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 5.0% over the past year (grade of B), 5.9% over the past three years (grade of C) and 4.2% per year over the past five years (grade of A).
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RFXIX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| RFXIX Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 0.7% | 5.0% | 5.9% | 4.2% | na |
| RFXIX Grade | B | B | B | C | A | na |
| +/- Category | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 1.7% | na |
| Nontraditional Bond Avg | -0.2% | 0.4% | 4.4% | 5.6% | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| RFXIX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.1% | 2.6% | 2.5% | na |
RFXIX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| RFXIX Return (NAV) | 2.2% | 5.2% | 8.9% | 4.1% | -0.8% | 5.3% | 2.8% | na | na | na | na |
| RFXIX Grade | A | D | A | F | A | A | D | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 1.0% | -1.7% | 3.5% | -2.5% | 5.2% | 4.0% | -2.6% | na | na | na | na |
| Nontraditional Bond Avg | 1.2% | 6.8% | 5.4% | 6.5% | -6.1% | 1.3% | 5.4% | 6.5% | -0.8% | 4.1% | 6.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 1.6% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.13 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.46 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (13% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.15 |
| R-Squared: | 27% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 5.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $1390 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $1,304 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 11% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Van de Water William (2019), Meyer Eric (2019) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 4/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 959 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 27.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 2.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.7% |
| Domestic Bond: | 88.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 2.3% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 8.6% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Rational Funds |
| Phone Number: | 800-253-0412 |
| Website: | www.rationalmf.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | July 17, 2019 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| 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 (%): | 1.77% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.42% |
| Share Class: | Rational Special Situations Income Instl |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 500 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
