Fund Evaluator:
Westwood Alternative Income Ultra (WMNUX)
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Best Performing in Relative Value Arbitrage Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Westwood Alternative Income Ultra Overview
Westwood Alternative Income Ultra (WMNUX) is an actively managed Alternative Relative Value Arbitrage fund. Westwood launched the fund in 2015.
The investment seeks to provide absolute returns through a combination of current income and capital appreciation with low correlation to equity and fixed income markets. The fund employs an absolute return strategy, which means that it seeks to earn a positive total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation in all market conditions, by maintaining a portfolio that is designed to have low volatility and low correlations with equity and fixed income markets over a full market cycle. The fund invests primarily in income producing convertible securities.
About Westwood Alternative Income Ultra (WMNUX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.39 years: Christopher Hartman (2021), P. Adrian Helfert (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and FTSE Treasury Bill 1 Mon USD index with a weighting of 100%. Westwood Alternative Income Ultra has 194 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 27.5% 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.
Westwood Alternative Income Ultra is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. Westwood Alternative Income Ultra has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.8% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 3.7% (3.7% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 92.8% convertible bond). Westwood Alternative Income Ultra has 2.5% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $48 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Relative Value Arbitrage 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.
WMNUX 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 Westwood Alternative Income Ultra expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Relative Value Arbitrage category. Westwood Alternative Income Ultra has an expense ratio of 0.76%, which is 46% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. Westwood Alternative Income Ultra has a portfolio turnover rate of 89%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 252% for the Relative Value Arbitrage category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Westwood Alternative Income Ultra returned -0.1%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Relative Value Arbitrage category had an average return of 0.0%. 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.
Westwood Alternative Income Ultra has a trailing yield of 1.55%, which is below the 2.16% 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.
Westwood Alternative Income Ultra Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 4.3%, 0.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 6.7% over the past year (grade of B), 7.2% over the past three years (grade of C) and 4.9% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 4.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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WMNUX 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 |
|
| WMNUX Return (NAV) | -0.1% | 0.5% | 6.7% | 7.2% | 4.9% | 4.5% |
| WMNUX Grade | D | F | B | C | B | D |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | -0.3% | -0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | -0.6% |
| Relative Value Arbitrage Avg | 0.0% | 0.8% | 6.9% | 7.1% | 4.5% | 5.0% |
| WMNUX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.6% | 1.2% | 2.2% | 1.5% |
WMNUX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| WMNUX Return (NAV) | 4.3% | 7.7% | 6.1% | 7.0% | -1.1% | 3.1% | 7.6% | 8.5% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 5.4% |
| WMNUX Grade | B | C | D | C | A | F | D | A | D | F | C |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | -0.5% | -1.2% | 0.1% | 2.6% | -1.5% | -3.3% | 1.3% | -0.4% | -3.3% | -0.1% |
| Relative Value Arbitrage Avg | 4.2% | 8.2% | 7.4% | 6.9% | -3.7% | 4.6% | 11.0% | 7.2% | 0.9% | 4.0% | 5.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 2.0% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.16 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.02 - Above Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | D (65% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.12 |
| R-Squared: | 54% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 1.6% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $186 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 49 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 89% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Helfert P. Adrian (2020), Hartman Christopher (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 194 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 27.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.8% |
| Domestic Bond: | 3.7% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 92.8% |
| Other: | 0.1% |
| Cash: | 2.5% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Westwood |
| Phone Number: | 877-386-3944 |
| Website: |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | May 1, 2015 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000,000 |
| 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 (%): | 0.76% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.41% |
| Share Class: | Westwood Alternative Income Ultra |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
