Fund Evaluator:
TFA Tactical Income I (TFAZX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Nontraditional Bond Over the Last Year
| 11.5% | Artisan Global Unconstrained Investor (APFPX) |
| 6.0% | Goldman Sachs Dynamic Bond Inv (GZIRX) |
| 5.7% | Spectrum Unconstrained Investor (SUNBX) |
| 5.0% | PGIM Absolute Return Bond Z (PADZX) |
| 4.9% | Spectrum Low Volatility Investor (SVARX) |
Fund Details
TFA Tactical Income I Overview
TFA Tactical Income I (TFAZX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Nontraditional Bond fund. Tactical Fund Advisors launched the fund in 2019.
The investment seeks to provide high current income relative to the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, with a secondary objective of capital preservation. The fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in income-producing securities. It normally invests at least 50% of its total assets in ETFs that invest in both domestic and foreign U.S. Dollar-denominated securities, including leveraged fixed-income ETFs.
About TFA Tactical Income I (TFAZX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.03 years: 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: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. TFA Tactical Income I has 25 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 79.5% 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.
TFA Tactical Income I is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. TFA Tactical Income I has 9.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 15.2%. There is 0.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.8% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 67.7% (58.1% domestic bond, 9.7% foreign bond and 6.2% convertible bond). TFA Tactical Income I has 6.8% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $20 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.
TFAZX 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 TFA Tactical Income I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Nontraditional Bond category. TFA Tactical Income I has an expense ratio of 2.58%, which is 81% 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. TFA Tactical Income I has a portfolio turnover rate of 427%, 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, TFA Tactical Income I returned 1.3%, which earned it a grade of A, 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.
TFA Tactical Income I has a trailing yield of 2.13%, which is below the 4.93% 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.
TFA Tactical Income I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.5%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 4.0% over the past year (grade of B), 3.6% over the past three years (grade of F) and -0.7% per year over the past five years (grade of F).
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 TFA Tactical Income I, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
TFAZX 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 |
|
| TFAZX Return (NAV) | 1.3% | -0.6% | 4.0% | 3.6% | -0.7% | na |
| TFAZX Grade | A | F | B | F | F | na |
| +/- Category | 0.8% | -1.0% | 0.1% | -2.2% | -3.2% | na |
| Nontraditional Bond Avg | 0.5% | 0.5% | 3.9% | 5.8% | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| TFAZX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.5% | na |
TFAZX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TFAZX Return (NAV) | 1.5% | 5.8% | 0.8% | -0.2% | -9.9% | 5.8% | 3.0% | na | na | na | na |
| TFAZX Grade | C | C | F | F | F | A | D | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | -1.0% | -4.6% | -6.7% | -3.9% | 4.5% | -2.5% | na | na | na | na |
| 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: | 4.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.38 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.31 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (83% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.66 |
| R-Squared: | 62% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 2.1% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $20 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 21 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 428% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 6.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Maas Joe (2020), Moenning David (2020), Pietsch Jeff (2020) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 25 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 79.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 9.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 15.2% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.3% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.8% |
| Domestic Bond: | 58.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 9.7% |
| Convertible Bond: | 6.2% |
| Other: | 3.0% |
| Cash: | 6.8% |
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 (%): | 1.42% |
| Share Class: | TFA Tactical Income I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 250 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
