Fund Evaluator:
VELA Income Opportunities I (VIOIX)
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Best Performing in Moderately Aggressive Allocation Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
VELA Income Opportunities I Overview
VELA Income Opportunities I (VIOIX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderately Aggressive Allocation fund. VELA Funds launched the fund in 2022.
The investment seeks to provide current income and the secondary investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation. The fund, under normal market conditions, invests at least 80% of its net assets in income producing securities. The fund may invest in common equities of large, mid and small capitalization companies (both domestic and foreign, including American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”)), real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), preferred equity securities, convertible securities, and master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). The fund will limit its investments in MLPs to less than 25% of net assets.
About VELA Income Opportunities I (VIOIX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.73 years: Bobby Murphy (2022), Nick Rinker (2022), Shaun Steiger (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 3 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%, Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 50% and Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 50%. VELA Income Opportunities I has 126 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.2% 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.
VELA Income Opportunities I is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. VELA Income Opportunities I has 11.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 45.1%. There is 7.4% allocated to foreign stock, and 10.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 35.8% (31.9% domestic bond, 3.9% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). VELA Income Opportunities I has 1.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $42 million in total assets, which is below the $570 million average for the Moderately Aggressive 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.
VIOIX 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 VELA Income Opportunities I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderately Aggressive Allocation category. VELA Income Opportunities I has an expense ratio of 0.84%, which is 18% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. VELA Income Opportunities I has a portfolio turnover rate of 56%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 34% for the Moderately Aggressive Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, VELA Income Opportunities I returned 2.9%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Moderately Aggressive Allocation category had an average return of -0.4%. 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.
VELA Income Opportunities I has a trailing yield of 3.60%, which is above the 1.47% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly 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.
VELA Income Opportunities I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 6.0%, 3.8 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 10.4% over the past year (grade of F) and 7.2% over the past three years (grade of F).
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VIOIX 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 |
|
| VIOIX Return (NAV) | 2.9% | 4.3% | 10.4% | 7.2% | na | na |
| VIOIX Grade | A | A | F | F | na | na |
| +/- Category | 3.3% | 0.9% | -7.9% | -7.9% | na | na |
| Moderately Aggressive Allocation Avg | -0.4% | 3.4% | 18.4% | 15.1% | 8.7% | 10.2% |
| VIOIX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.5% | 1.5% | na | na |
VIOIX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| VIOIX Return (NAV) | 6.0% | 7.7% | 7.3% | 4.6% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| VIOIX Grade | F | F | F | F | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -3.8% | -8.3% | -8.4% | -12.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Moderately Aggressive Allocation Avg | 9.8% | 16.0% | 15.7% | 16.5% | -15.7% | 18.1% | 13.0% | 22.6% | -7.0% | 17.2% | 9.3% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 8.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.68 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.75 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (3% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.74 |
| R-Squared: | 68% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Mid-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 3.6% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $42 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 43 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 56% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 4.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Murphy Bobby (2022), Rinker Nick (2022), Steiger Shaun (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 126 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 18.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 11.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 45.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | 7.4% |
| Preferred Stock: | 10.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 31.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 3.9% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.6% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | VELA Funds |
| Phone Number: | 833-399-1001 |
| Website: |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | March 31, 2022 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,500 |
| 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 (%): | 0.84% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.03% |
| Share Class: | VELA Income Opportunities I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
