Fund Evaluator:
Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A (WFSTX)
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Best Performing in Technology Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A Overview
Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A (WFSTX) is an actively managed Sector Equity Technology fund. Allspring Global Investments launched the fund in 2000.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests: at least 80% of the fund's net assets in equity securities; up to 25% of the fund's total assets in equity securities of foreign issuers, including up to 15% of the fund's total assets in equity securities of emerging markets issuers, directly or through ADRs and similar investments. It invests primarily in equity securities of companies of any market capitalization that the manager believes offer the potential for capital growth and are relevant to the fund’s investment theme of innovation. It is non-diversified.
About Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A (WFSTX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.50 years: Michael Smith (2022), Christopher Warner (2022), Robert Gruendyke (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 1 primary benchmark: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100%. Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A has 65 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 31.2% 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.
Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity fund group. Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A has 14.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 84.0%. There is 14.1% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A has 1.9% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $329 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Technology 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.
WFSTX 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 Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Technology category. Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A has an expense ratio of 1.21%, which is 1% 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. Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A has a portfolio turnover rate of 90%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 78% for the Technology category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A returned 1.9%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Technology category had an average return of 5.2%. 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.
Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.05% 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.
Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 4.2%, 22.7 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 1.3% over the past year (grade of F), 11.4% over the past three years (grade of F) and 0.9% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 14.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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WFSTX 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 |
|
| WFSTX Return (NAV) | 1.9% | -1.7% | 1.3% | 11.4% | 0.9% | 14.4% |
| WFSTX Grade | F | C | F | F | F | F |
| +/- Category | -3.2% | 0.8% | -37.7% | -18.7% | -12.1% | -6.5% |
| Technology Avg | 5.2% | -2.5% | 39.0% | 30.1% | 13.0% | 20.9% |
| WFSTX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 4.2% | 2.0% | 3.6% | 3.2% |
WFSTX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| WFSTX Return (NAV) | 4.2% | 2.3% | 16.4% | 34.7% | -38.5% | 13.4% | 67.1% | 29.4% | 7.2% | 43.0% | 4.7% |
| WFSTX Grade | F | F | F | F | D | D | B | F | A | B | F |
| +/- Category | -22.7% | -22.4% | -12.0% | -14.9% | -0.4% | -3.8% | 10.2% | -11.9% | 11.1% | 5.6% | -6.1% |
| Technology Avg | 26.9% | 24.7% | 28.3% | 49.6% | -38.2% | 17.2% | 56.9% | 41.2% | -3.9% | 37.4% | 10.8% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 18.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.52 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.74 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (6% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.18 |
| R-Squared: | 63% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Growth |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $343 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 329 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 90% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 4.1 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Smith Michael (2022), Warner Christopher (2022), Gruendyke Robert (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 65 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 31.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 14.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 84.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 14.1% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.9% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Allspring Global Investments |
| Phone Number: | 800-222-8222 |
| Website: | www.allspringglobal.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | September 18, 2000 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 250 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 5.75% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.21% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.23% |
| Share Class: | Allspring Innovation Fund - Class A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |
