Fund Evaluator:
Tactical Growth Allocation I (TFAFX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Tactical Allocation Over the Last Year
| 62.5% | Quantified Evolution Plus Investor (QEVOX) |
| 35.2% | Teberg (TEBRX) |
| 30.8% | Potomac Defensive Bull - Instl (CRDBX) |
| 25.7% | ACR Opportunity Fund I Shares (ACROX) |
| 24.4% | Invesco Balanced-Risk Allocation Y (ABRYX) |
Fund Details
Tactical Growth Allocation I Overview
Tactical Growth Allocation I (TFAFX) is an actively managed Allocation Tactical Allocation fund. Tactical Fund Advisors launched the fund in 2019.
The investment seeks to provide capital appreciation. The fund may invest in equity securities of domestic and foreign issuers of any size, equity-related securities such as options on equity indices or index exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) linked to the VIX (market volatility) index. The fund’s ETF investments include leveraged ETFs and ETFs that invest in fixed-income securities of any duration or credit quality, including high-yield bonds. The fund adviser expects to have a high portfolio turnover which may result in higher transactional costs.
About Tactical Growth Allocation I (TFAFX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.69 years: Vance Howard (2021), Jeff Pietsch (2020), Joe Maas (2020), David Moenning (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Morningstar Mod Agg Tgt Risk TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Tactical Growth Allocation I has 103 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 46.8% 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.
Tactical Growth Allocation I is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Tactical Growth Allocation I has 4.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 76.8%. There is 2.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.4% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 7.8% (5.5% domestic bond, 2.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Tactical Growth Allocation I has 11.5% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $37 million in total assets, which is below the $222 million average for the Tactical 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.
TFAFX 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 Tactical Growth Allocation I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Tactical Allocation category. Tactical Growth Allocation I has an expense ratio of 2.58%, which is 46% 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. Tactical Growth Allocation I has a portfolio turnover rate of 266%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 196% for the Tactical Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Tactical Growth Allocation I returned -1.7%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Tactical Allocation category had an average return of -0.9%. 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.
Tactical Growth Allocation I has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 2.86% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.
Tactical Growth Allocation I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 5.3%, 3.0 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 12.6% over the past year (grade of D), 12.5% over the past three years (grade of B) and 6.4% per year over the past five years (grade of B).
For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about Tactical Growth Allocation I, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
TFAFX 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 |
|
| TFAFX Return (NAV) | -1.7% | 2.1% | 12.6% | 12.5% | 6.4% | na |
| TFAFX Grade | F | C | D | B | B | na |
| +/- Category | -0.9% | 0.6% | -3.5% | 1.9% | 1.1% | na |
| Tactical Allocation Avg | -0.9% | 1.5% | 16.2% | 10.6% | 5.3% | 6.3% |
| TFAFX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.1% | na |
TFAFX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TFAFX Return (NAV) | 5.3% | 11.5% | 20.2% | 19.6% | -24.1% | 16.2% | 7.9% | na | na | na | na |
| TFAFX Grade | D | D | A | A | F | B | C | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -3.0% | -1.1% | 11.3% | 8.9% | -11.0% | 3.5% | -2.3% | na | na | na | na |
| Tactical Allocation Avg | 8.4% | 12.7% | 8.9% | 10.8% | -13.1% | 12.7% | 10.2% | 13.5% | -6.2% | 13.2% | 5.6% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 11.8% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.96 - Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.15 - Above Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | D (72% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.02 |
| R-Squared: | 66% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $37 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 38 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 267% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 6.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Maas Joe (2020), Moenning David (2020), Pietsch Jeff (2020), Howard Vance (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 12/31/25)
| # of Holdings: | 103 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 46.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 4.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 76.8% |
| Foreign Stock: | 2.3% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.4% |
| Domestic Bond: | 5.5% |
| Foreign Bond: | 2.3% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 1.2% |
| Cash: | 11.5% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Tactical Fund Advisors |
| Phone Number: | 833-974-3787 |
| Website: | Tactical Investment Series Trust |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | June 10, 2019 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 250 |
| 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 (%): | 2.58% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.76% |
| Share Class: | Tactical Growth Allocation I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 250 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
