Fund Evaluator:
Aspiriant Defensive Allocation (RMDFX)
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Best Performing in Multistrategy Over the Last Year
| 38.5% | AQR Alternative Risk Premia N (QRPNX) |
| 24.4% | AQR Style Premia Alternative N (QSPNX) |
| 14.3% | AQR Diversifying Strategies N (QDSNX) |
| 13.9% | Goldman Sachs Multi-Strategy Alts Inv (GIMMX) |
| 12.7% | Blackstone Alternative Multi-Strategy Y (BXMYX) |
Fund Details
Aspiriant Defensive Allocation Overview
Aspiriant Defensive Allocation (RMDFX) is an actively managed Alternative Multistrategy fund. Aspiriant launched the fund in 2015.
The investment seeks to achieve long-term investment returns with lower risk and lower volatility than the stock market, and with relatively low correlation to stock and bond market indexes. The fund is a "fund-of-funds" that seeks to provide an investment return that has lower volatility than traditional asset classes (i.e., public equity and investment grade bonds) by combining several non-traditional or alternative asset class exposures, including investments that focus on a specialized asset class such as long-short strategies. It is non-diversified.
About Aspiriant Defensive Allocation (RMDFX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.72 years: John Allen (2015), Marc Castellani (2015). 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 HFRI Fund of Funds Composite USD index with a weighting of 100%. Aspiriant Defensive Allocation has 16 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 86.5% 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.
Aspiriant Defensive Allocation is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. Aspiriant Defensive Allocation has 25.4% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 2.1%. There is 21.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.6% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 32.2% (28.4% domestic bond, 3.9% foreign bond and 4.4% convertible bond). Aspiriant Defensive Allocation has 14.5% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $539 million average for the Multistrategy 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.
RMDFX 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 Aspiriant Defensive Allocation expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Multistrategy category. Aspiriant Defensive Allocation has an expense ratio of 5.35%, which is 157% 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. Aspiriant Defensive Allocation has a portfolio turnover rate of 13%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 230% for the Multistrategy category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Aspiriant Defensive Allocation returned 1.6%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Multistrategy category had an average return of 1.1%. 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.
Aspiriant Defensive Allocation has a trailing yield of 4.24%, which is above the 3.03% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually 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.
Aspiriant Defensive Allocation Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 9.4%, 2.5 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 17.6% over the past year (grade of A), 12.7% over the past three years (grade of A) and 6.9% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 5.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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RMDFX 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 |
|
| RMDFX Return (NAV) | 1.6% | 2.2% | 17.6% | 12.7% | 6.9% | 5.9% |
| RMDFX Grade | B | B | A | A | A | A |
| +/- Category | 0.5% | 0.3% | 6.6% | 4.8% | 1.4% | 2.1% |
| Multistrategy Avg | 1.1% | 1.9% | 11.0% | 8.0% | 5.5% | 3.8% |
| RMDFX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
RMDFX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| RMDFX Return (NAV) | 9.4% | 18.8% | 6.2% | 8.0% | -6.8% | 4.2% | 5.1% | 11.5% | -4.9% | 9.4% | 1.4% |
| RMDFX Grade | A | A | D | B | F | D | B | A | D | A | D |
| +/- Category | 2.5% | 10.6% | 0.1% | 1.6% | -6.4% | -2.0% | 3.1% | 4.5% | -0.0% | 4.4% | -0.6% |
| Multistrategy Avg | 6.9% | 8.2% | 6.1% | 6.4% | -0.4% | 6.2% | 2.0% | 7.0% | -4.9% | 5.0% | 2.0% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 4.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.39 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.85 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (45% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.23 |
| R-Squared: | 36% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1153 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $1,153 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 13% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 10.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Allen John (2015), Castellani Marc (2015) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 16 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 86.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 25.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 2.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | 21.5% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.6% |
| Domestic Bond: | 28.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 3.9% |
| Convertible Bond: | 4.4% |
| Other: | 24.7% |
| Cash: | 14.5% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Aspiriant |
| Phone Number: | 877-997-9971 |
| Website: | www.aspiriantfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 14, 2015 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 0 |
| 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: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 5.35% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 2.08% |
| Share Class: | Aspiriant Defensive Allocation |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
