Investment objective & strategy
As of Sept. 26, 2025 · prospectusObjective. The Fund seeks to achieve capital growth by engaging in merger arbitrage.
Strategy. In attempting to achieve its investment objective, under normal market conditions the Fund will seek to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of companies (both United States ((the "U.S.") and foreign) that are involved in publicly announced mergers, takeovers, tender offers, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations, and other corporate reorganizations. Equity securities include common and preferred stock. The Fund may invest in equity securities of companies of any market capitalization. Merger arbitrage is a highly specialized investment approach designed to profit from the successful completion of mergers, takeovers, tender offers, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations, and other corporate reorganizations. The Fund's investment adviser (the "Adviser") uses various investment strategies, including short selling … In attempting to achieve its investment objective, under normal market conditions the Fund will seek to invest at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of companies (both United States ((the "U.S.") and foreign) that are involved in publicly announced mergers, takeovers, tender offers, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations, and other corporate reorganizations. Equity securities include common and preferred stock. The Fund may invest in equity securities of companies of any market capitalization. Merger arbitrage is a highly specialized investment approach designed to profit from the successful completion of mergers, takeovers, tender offers, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations, and other corporate reorganizations. The Fund's investment adviser (the "Adviser") uses various investment strategies, including short selling and the purchasing and selling of options, in an attempt to preserve capital during times of market stress and to minimize market exposure, correlation, and volatility. The Adviser expects the Fund's assets to be invested across various industries; however, if for example, a large percentage (namely, at least 50%) of mergers or other corporate events taking place within the U.S. are within one industry over a given period of time, a large portion of the Fund's assets could be concentrated in that industry for that period of time. The most common merger arbitrage activity, and the approach the Fund primarily uses, involves purchasing the shares of an announced acquisition target company at a discount to their expected value upon completion of the acquisition. The Fund may engage in selling securities short when the terms of a proposed acquisition call for the exchange of common stock and/or other securities. In such a case, the common stock of the company to be acquired may be purchased and, at approximately the same time, an amount of the acquiring company's common stock and/or other securities, as per the terms of the transaction, may be sold short. The purpose of the short sale is to protect against a decline in the market value of the acquiring company's securities prior to the acquisition's completion. The Fund may enter into equity swap agreements for the purpose of attempting to obtain a desired return on, or exposure to, certain equity securities or equity indices in an expedited manner or at a lower cost to the Fund than if the Fund had invested directly in such securities. The Fund may, but is not required to, seek to reduce currency risk by hedging part or all of its exposure to various foreign currencies. Furthermore, the Fund may invest in other investment companies, including other funds advised by the Adviser, and in exchange traded funds ("ETFs"). The Fund generally engages in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its investment objective. The Fund will generally sell or close out a security when the securities of the companies involved in the transaction no longer meet the Fund's expected return criteria when gauged by prevailing market prices and the relative risks of the situation. The Fund may hold a significant portion of its assets in cash, money market or similar cash management funds, or short-term investments for defensive purposes, to preserve the Fund's ability to capitalize quickly on new market opportunities, or for other reasons, such as because the Adviser has determined to obtain investment exposure through derivative instruments instead of direct cash investments. The Fund may also hold a significant amount of cash or short-term investments immediately after a period in which several transactions in which the Fund has invested close in a similar timeframe, yet before capital is redeployed to other opportunities.
Top holdings
As of Feb. 28, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSILF-GOVT-INS | MVRXX | $66.25M | 8.17% |
| State Street Navigator Securities Lending Portfolio II | GVMXX | $66.25M | 8.17% |
| JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC | — | $37.34M | 4.61% |
| ELECTRONIC ARTS INC | — | $32.49M | 4.01% |
| ENDEAVOR GROUP HOLDINGS INC | — | $32.39M | 3.99% |
| NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP | — | $31.81M | 3.92% |
| WARNER BROS DISCOVERY INC | — | $31.56M | 3.89% |
| TXNM ENERGY INC | — | $31.04M | 3.83% |
| CHART INDUSTRIES INC | — | $30.53M | 3.76% |
| HOLOGIC INC | — | $29.77M | 3.67% |
Portfolio moves
Nov 30, 2025 → Feb 28, 2026How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| Water Island Event-Driven Fund · AEDFX, AEDNX, AGEAX | 71% | 1.46% |
| AltShares Event-Driven ETF · EVNT | 63% | 1.33% |
| AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF · ARB | 46% | 0.76% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| Water Island Capital, LLC | Adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of September 26, 2025, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of February 28, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
- Total return for calendar year 2025, before tax and after fund expenses. Computed by compounding the twelve monthly total returns the fund reported in its SEC N-PORT filings for 2025 (the latest prospectus does not yet chart this year).
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