Fund Evaluator:

Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I Overview

Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I (TRIIX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderately Conservative Allocation fund. Catalyst Mutual Funds launched the fund in 2013.

The investment seeks income and capital appreciation. The fund invests primarily in a broad range of income-producing securities. These include equity securities, such as dividend-paying common stocks and REITs and debt securities, such as interest-paying bonds and convertible bonds. It may also invest in preferred stock, master limited partnerships and bank notes. Generally, at least 30% of the fund's assets is invested in equity securities. The fund is non-diversified.

About Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I (TRIIX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.51 years: Dwayne Moyers (2008), Lisa Haley (2023), Larry Holzenthaler (2026), Brandon Allred (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US Corp Cash Pay HY TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I has 52 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 47.0% 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.

Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 52.5%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 39.0% (39.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 7.2% convertible bond). Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I has 0.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $13 million in total assets, which is below the $561 million average for the Moderately Conservative 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.

TRIIX 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 Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderately Conservative Allocation category. Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I has an expense ratio of 1.95%, which is 94% 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. Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I has a portfolio turnover rate of 62%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 43% for the Moderately Conservative Allocation category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I returned 4.7%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Moderately Conservative Allocation category had an average return of 1.3%. 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.

Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I has a trailing yield of 6.28%, which is above the 3.29% 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.

Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 8.9%, 2.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 8.0% over the past year (grade of D), 11.0% over the past three years (grade of B) and 5.6% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 8.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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 Catalyst/SMH Total Return Income I, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.