Investment objective & strategy
As of April 28, 2025 · prospectusObjective. The Fund seeks high current income that is exempt from U.S. federal income tax, consistent with preservation of capital.
Strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in tax-exempt bonds, which are debt obligations issued by or for the U.S. states, territories and possessions and the District of Columbia. The interest on these bonds is generally exempt from both U.S. regular federal income tax and U.S. federal alternative minimum tax. However, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in bonds that generate interest income subject to federal alternative minimum tax for individuals. The Fund invests in both revenue bonds, which are backed by and payable only from the revenues derived from a specific facility or specific revenue source, and in general … Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in tax-exempt bonds, which are debt obligations issued by or for the U.S. states, territories and possessions and the District of Columbia. The interest on these bonds is generally exempt from both U.S. regular federal income tax and U.S. federal alternative minimum tax. However, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in bonds that generate interest income subject to federal alternative minimum tax for individuals. The Fund invests in both revenue bonds, which are backed by and payable only from the revenues derived from a specific facility or specific revenue source, and in general obligation bonds, which are secured by the full faith, credit and taxation power of the issuing municipality. The Fund primarily invests in bonds rated investment grade at the time of purchase or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the Funds subadviser. However, the Fund may invest up to 30% of its assets in bonds rated below investment grade (rated below Baa3 by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys) and BBB- by S&P Global Ratings (S&P) or Fitch, Inc. (Fitch), commonly referred to as junk bonds) or determined to be of comparable quality by the applicable subadviser. The Fund may not invest in bonds rated at the time of purchase lower than B3 by Moodys or B- by S&P or Fitch. The Fund may invest in closed-end funds that invest in the same types of securities in which the Fund may invest directly. The average effective duration for the portfolio is typically approximately three to eight years. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of the price of a fixed-income security to changes in interest rates and is expressed as a number of years. A longer duration generally means the price is more sensitive to changes in interest rates. For every 1% change in interest rate, the Funds net asset value is expected to change inversely by approximately 1% for each year of duration. For example, a 1% increase in interest rate would be expected to cause a fixed-income portfolio with an average dollar weighted duration of five years to decrease in value by approximately 5% (1% interest rate increase multiplied by the five-year duration). From time to time, the Funds subadvisers utilize interest rate futures contracts to hedge interest rate risk associated with the Funds portfolio. Clearwater Management Co., Inc. (CMC) serves as the investment manager to the Fund and is responsible for the oversight of the Funds subadvisers. The Fund uses a multi-style, multi-manager approach. The Funds adviser allocates portions of the Funds assets among subadvisers who employ distinct investment styles. The Fund currently allocates assets among the following subadvisers who provide day-to-day management to the Fund: MacKay Shields LLC (MacKay Shields) and Sit Fixed Income Advisors II, LLC (Sit). The allocation among subadvisers will vary over time. Fiduciary Counselling, Inc. (FCI) also acts as a subadviser to the Fund, but does not provide day-to-day management. FCI provides the Fund with the following investment-related services: investment strategy advice, manager recommendations and related duties as requested by CMC. MacKay Shields relative-value investment strategy combines a top-down macro view with bottom-up credit research driven security selection. The investment process seeks to identify mispricings and opportunities for total return with an emphasis and focus on risk management. Sit selects bonds that offer high tax-exempt income. In selecting which bonds to buy and sell for the Fund, Sit analyzes the general outlook on the economy and interest rate forecasts, while also evaluating a securitys structure, credit quality, yield, maturity, and liquidity.
Top holdings
As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Institutional Funds GOVT SELECT PT | BGSXX | $11.34M | 1.37% |
| FLOYD COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY | — | $5.40M | 0.65% |
| MS MSSSFH 5.12 12/01/2045 | MSSSFH | $5.09M | 0.61% |
| TX TXSSFH 5.12 01/01/2054 | TXSSFH | $5.06M | 0.61% |
| TX TXSSFH 5.12 07/01/2055 | TXSSFH | $5.04M | 0.61% |
| Northern Institutional Funds GOVT SELECT PT | BGSXX | $4.61M | 0.56% |
| MI MISHSG 2.5 06/01/2052 | MISHSG | $4.23M | 0.51% |
| GEORGIA ST HSG & FIN AUTH REVENUE | GASHSG | $4.07M | 0.49% |
| UT UTSHSG 6 12/21/2052 | UTSHSG | $4.07M | 0.49% |
| NJ NJSHSG 4.5 10/01/2042 | NJSHSG | $3.99M | 0.48% |
Portfolio moves
Dec 31, 2025 → Mar 31, 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. |
|---|---|---|
| Sit Tax-Free Income Fund · SNTIX, SNTYX | 24% | 0.70% |
| NYLI MacKay Strategic Muni Allocation Fund · MTFHX, MTFEX, MTFDX, MTFGX, MTFFX, MTFMX, MTFZX | 12% | 0.45% |
| NYLI MacKay Muni Intermediate ETF · MMIT | 11% | 0.30% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| MacKay Shields LLC | Sub-adviser |
| Clearwater Management Co Inc. | Adviser |
| Fiduciary Counselling, Inc. | Sub-adviser |
| Sit Fixed Income Advisors II, LLC | Sub-adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of April 28, 2025, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of March 31, 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).
Machine-readable: JSON · Markdown. Programmatic access via the agent surface.