July 2022 Market Insights
By: Tony Minopoli, President & CIO of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors
Well, that is a six-month period that we would certainly like to forget! For the first six month of 2022, the S&P 500 returned -20.0% and the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond index was also negative with a return of -10.3%[1]. The first half of this year saw continued supply chain disruptions as well as intensifying inflation. In general, increased energy prices have bled into all corners of the economy and have driven prices up on virtually everything. When was the last time you had a conversation that did not include $5 gas and the current state of expensive groceries?
Oil started this year at slightly over $75, hit a recent peak of nearly $122 on June 8th and is about $105 as I type this on the morning of July 5th. Just taking the most recent price, oil is trading about 40% higher than when we cleaned up after New Year’s Eve![2] Given that energy is a massive part of our economy and diesel fuel is a material factor, this significant change in energy costs is severely impacting prices. Wages have risen a bit but are certainly not nearly in line with the general increase in prices. The last print for CPI was 8.6% and we are waiting for the next release, which will occur on July 13th. The Federal Reserve (Fed) had discussed the transitory nature of inflation when prices first started to increase, but both Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell have admitted that the pace and intensity inflation was far more significant than had been expected.
The Fed is expected to increase rates at their next meeting and many prognosticators are expecting another 75 basis point hike. We are certainly in the camp that the Fed is intent on taming inflation, and will continue to increase rates in order to tamp down inflation. My personal concern is that until we tame energy prices, it will be difficult to impossible to seriously manage inflation pressures.
This brings me to the point of renewables. Recently, I had several investors reach out to me and express their view that I am personally anti green energy. Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that our future is a blend of fossil fuels and renewables and as renewables become more economically feasible and dependable, we may see the supply balance tilt more towards renewables. In the short to intermediate term, renewables are still very expensive. The price of electric vehicles has soared and how many families can honestly afford to replace two gasoline powered vehicles with two electric vehicles? Also, the electric grid, as currently constructed, cannot withstand a significant shift to electric vehicles because the electric demand to charge a grossly higher number of electric cars would strain the grid beyond its’ capacity. As a result of my compassion towards less economically advantaged individuals, I believe a measured transition to renewables, considering things such as hydrogen and nuclear, will allow us to maintain and improve the average standard of living while also moving the world towards cleaner energy. People that are economically worse off today, might be crushed if we transition too quickly to a green energy world. A story for another day is a discussion about how our transition to a green world needs to coincide with China and India, otherwise, I am not sure our 330 million people make a difference versus their roughly 2.7 billion people.
Where do we go from here? The war in Ukraine continues to rage on and Germany is concerned that their plan to build enough gas storage for winter may be thwarted by Russia’s plan to do “maintenance” on the Nord Stream pipeline and that this may be a precursor to Russia shutting down all gas to Germany. If this does occur, it is reasonable to expect that energy prices will remain high as Germany will seek to replace Russian natural gas with liquefied natural gas from other sources. This could cause energy shortages in other parts of the world and spark more energy inflation. Under this scenario, inflation may linger far longer, despite Fed efforts to bring inflation under control. This will not be the friendliest environment for stocks. The bond market will be a little trickier. On the one hand, it is reasonable to expect bond yields to increase as inflation moves higher. However, there could be a countervailing trend in the bond market, because despite increasing energy and Fed action to cause short term rates, both higher energy and Fed action could cause a recession and, therefore, bond rates could be driven downward. No one said asset management would ever be easy!
The next concern is what to do? I have written about patient long-term investing in many of my monthly columns. When markets are grinding lower, it seems that things will never get better. During the Great Financial Crisis, it seemed that stocks would never stop going down, until they rebounded in March of 2009 and new and significant bull market started. When Covid first hit, stocks were decimated, and this was also an environment that seemed to be the end of the economy. And then March 23, 2020, was the bottom. It did not seem to be the bottom at the time. It usually doesn’t feel like a recession until sometimes we are halfway through and once the next expansion begins, the Fed tells us when the recession actually started. Yes, I can be a broken record on this point; we continue to believe in careful planning and long-term investing, and we are certainly available to discuss your investment portfolio with you.
I hope you had an enjoyable Fourth of July and I also hope you enjoy the summer.
Until next month.
[1] Source: Bloomberg data
[2] Source: CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/@CL.1)
Core Bond Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
5 Years ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Bond Fund-I Shares | -2.12% | -11.72% | -11.56% | 0.80% | 1.28% |
| Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index | -1.57% | -10.35% | -10.29% | 0.88% | 1.18% |
| Lipper Core Bond Fund Average | -1.94% | -10.93% | -11.09% | 0.79% | 1.10% |
| Lipper Percentile Rank | 66% | 50% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Core Bond Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 504 (1 Year) and 438 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.71%, Net Expense Ratio 0.50%.
Limited Duration Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
5 Years ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limited Duration Bond Fund-I Shares | -0.73% | -3.42% | -3.88% | 1.04% | 1.02% |
| Bloomberg Government/Credit 1-3 Year Index | -0.70% | -3.11% | -3.56% | 1.07% | 1.04% |
| Lipper Short Investment Grade Debt Fund Average | -1.09% | -4.32% | -4.67% | 1.04% | 1.11% |
| Lipper Percentile Rank | 24% | 52% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Short Investment Grade Debt Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 369 (1 Year) and 308 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.71%, Net Expense Ratio 0.50%.
Large Cap Growth Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
5 Years ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Cap Growth Fund-I Shares | -7.89% | -28.93% | -22.97% | 9.83% | 8.44% |
| Russell 1000 Growth Index | -7.92% | -28.07% | -18.77% | 14.29% | 12.63% |
| Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Fund Average | -8.08% | -32.59% | -29.68% | 9.88% | 8.92% |
| Lipper Percentile Rank | 36% | 50% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Growth Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 465 (1 Year) and 393 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.90%, Net Expense Ratio 0.90%.
Large Cap Value Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
5 Years ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Cap Value Fund-I Shares | -9.24% | -13.63% | -7.37% | 7.42% | 7.15% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index | -8.74% | -12.86% | -6.82% | 7.17% | 7.13% |
| Lipper Multi-Cap Value Fund Average | -8.99% | -12.30% | -6.82% | 7.23% | 6.85% |
| Lipper Percentile Rank | 65% | 48% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Value Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 631 (1 Year) and 560 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 0.90%, Net Expense Ratio 0.90%.
Small Cap Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
5 Years ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Cap Equity Fund-I Shares | -9.93% | -24.17% | -20.27% | 4.19% | 4.79% |
| Russell 2000 Index | -8.22% | -23.43% | -25.20% | 5.17% | 5.94% |
| Lipper Small Cap Fund Average | -8.90% | -18.85% | -15.77% | 5.41% | 6.01% |
| Lipper Percentile Rank | 82% | 74% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Small-Cap Core Funds. Number of Funds in Category: 852 (1 Year) and 743 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.05%, Net Expense Ratio 1.05%.
International Equity Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
5 Years ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Equity-I Shares | -10.40% | -20.63% | -21.65% | 3.42% | 3.86% |
| FTSE All World Ex US Index | -8.54% | -17.95% | -18.64% | 3.16% | 3.33% |
| Lipper International Multi-Cap Fund Average | -8.93% | -18.79% | -18.44% | 1.85% | 2.39% |
| Lipper Percentile Rank | 89% | 7% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: International Multi-Cap Core. Number of Funds in Category: 331 (1 Year) and 256 (5 Year). Gross Expense Ratio 1.21%, Net Expense Ratio 1.10%.
Real Estate Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate-I Shares | -6.71% | -15.53% | -1.93% | 6.36% |
| FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index | -7.41% | -20.20% | -6.27% | 1.56% |
| Lipper Real Estate Average | -7.24% | -20.24% | -8.17% | 2.29% |
| Lipper Percentile Rank | 1% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Real Estate
Number of Funds in Category: 247 (1 Year)
Gross Expense Ratio 1.16%, Net Expense Ratio 1.00%.
Long-Short Equity Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-Short Equity – I Shares | -5.06% | 6.27% | 15.01% | 3.97% |
| HFRX Equity Market Neutral Developed Index | -3.21% | -2.40% | -3.83% | -2.36% |
| Lipper Alternative Long/Short Average | -4.45% | -8.23% | -4.36% | 4.84% |
| Lipper Percentile rank | 7% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Alternative Long/Short Equity Number of Funds in Category: 242 (1 Year) Gross Expense Ratio 2.63, Net Expense Ratio 2.28%.
U.S. All Cap Index Fund
| One Month ( As of 6/30/22) |
YTD ( As of 6/30/22) |
1 Year ( As of 6/30/22) |
Since Inception ( As of 6/30/22) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. All Cap Index – I Shares | -9.19% | -22.65% | -15.47% | 7.36% |
| Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index | -9.07% | -22.56% | -15.33% | 7.78% |
| Lipper Multi-Cap Core Average | -8.11% | -20.27% | -13.94% | 6.05% |
| Lipper Percentile rank | 70% |
*Lipper Percentile Rank is based on total return performance. Lipper Category: Multi-Cap Core Number of Funds in Category: 669 (1 Year)
Gross Expense Ratio 0.92%, Net Expense Ratio 0.25%.
The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth less than their original cost and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Investment performance does not reflect the redemption fee; if it was reflected, the total return would be lower than shown. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call 1-844-KC-FUNDS.
Fund performance for the 1 year, 5 year, and Since Inception periods are annualized. The inception date for Limited Duration, Core Bond, Large Cap Growth, Large Cap Value, Small Cap, and International are February 27, 2015. 5-year fund performance is not available for the Real Estate Fund, Long/Short Equity, or the U.S. All Cap Index since the funds’ inception dates are September 30, 2019, December 21, 2019, and December 31, 2019, respectively.
Effective July 21, 2020, the Knights of Columbus Real Estate Fund underwent a change in its Investment Objective and a name change to reflect the new investment strategy as detailed in The Funds’ Prospectus update of July 20, 2020. The Fund was formerly known as Knights of Columbus Global Real Estate Fund. Results prior to July 20, 2020, reflect the performance of the Fund's previous strategy.
Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or to reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to keep Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses, (excluding interest, taxes, fund brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and non-routine expenses) from exceeding the Net Expense Ratio for the respective Funds’ Institutional Shares average daily net assets until February 28, 2023.
Benchmark Definitions
Bloomberg Government/Credit 1-3 Year Index – benchmark for Limited Duration Fund
The U.S. Government/Credit Index is the non-securitized component of the U.S. Aggregate Index and was the first macro index launched by Barclays Capital. The U.S. Government/Credit Index includes Treasuries (i.e., public obligations of the U.S. Treasury that have remaining maturities of more than one year), government-related issues (i.e., agency, sovereign, supranational, and local authority debt), and corporates. The U.S. Government/Credit Index was launched on January 1, 1979 and is a subset of the U.S. Aggregate Index. The 1-3 year index includes all medium and larger issues of U.S. government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities of between 1 and 3 years and are publicly issued.
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index – benchmark for Core Bond Fund
The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based flagship benchmark that measures the investment grade, US dollar denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. The index includes Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), ABS and CMBS (agency and non-agency). Provided the necessary inclusion rules are met, US Aggregate eligible securities also contribute to the multi-currency Global Aggregate Index and the US Universal Index, which includes high yield and emerging markets debt. The US Aggregate Index was created in 1986.
FTSE All-World Ex-U.S. Index – benchmark for International Equity Fund
The FTSE All-World ex US Index is one of a number of indexes designed to help investors benchmark their international investments. The index comprises Large and Mid cap stocks providing coverage of Developed and Emerging Markets excluding the US. The index is derived from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), which covers 98% of the world’s investable market capitalization.
Russell 1000 Growth Index – benchmark for Large Cap Growth Fund
The Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Russell 1000 Growth Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the large-cap growth segment. The Index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure new and growing equities are included and that the represented companies continue to reflect growth characteristics.
Russell 1000 Value Index – benchmark for Large Cap Value Fund
The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower expected growth values. The Russell 1000 Value Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the large-cap value segment. The Index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure new and growing equities are included and that the represented companies continue to reflect value characteristics.
Russell 2000 Index – benchmark for Small Cap Fund
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000® Index representing approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of that index. It includes approximately 2000 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership. The Russell 2000 is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased small-cap barometer and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the true small-cap opportunity set.
FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index – benchmark for Real Estate Fund – The FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index contains all Equity REITs not designated as Timber REITs or Infrastructure REITs. Prior to December 2010, the index included Timber REITs and Infrastructure REITs.
HFRX Equity Market Neutral Index – benchmark for Long/Short Equity Fund HFRX Equity Market Neutral Index The HFRX Equity Market Neutral Index employs sophisticated quantitative techniques of analyzing price data to ascertain information about future price movement and relationships between securities, select securities for purchase and sale. These can include both Factor-based and Statistical Arbitrage/Trading Strategies.
Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index – benchmark for U.S. All Cap Index Fund Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index Adheres to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines. Consists of all common stocks and real estate investment trusts in the Solactive US Broad Market Index excluding companies that are determined by Institutional Shareholder.
Indices are unmanaged and do not reflect the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index.
Lipper Peer Group Definitions
Lipper Short Investment Grade Debt Classification – peer group for Limited Duration Fund
Funds that invest primarily in investment-grade debt issues (rated in the top four grades) with dollar-weighted average maturities of less than three years. The Limited Duration Bond fund ranked 89 out of 369 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 159 out of 308 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper Core Bond Classification – peer group for Core Bond Fund
Funds that invest at least 85% in domestic investment-grade debt issues (rated in the top four grades) with any remaining investment in non-benchmark sectors such as high-yield, global and emerging market debt. These funds maintain dollar-weighted average maturities of five to ten years. The Core Bond fund ranked 331 out of 504 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 220 out of 438 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper Multi-Cap Growth Classification – peer group for Large Cap Growth Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market capitalization range over an extended period of time. Multi-cap growth funds typically have above-average characteristics compared to the S&P SuperComposite 1500 Index. The Large Cap Growth fund ranked 166 out of 465 funds measured for the one-year ranking period ranked and 197 out of 393 funds measured for the five year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper Multi-Cap Value Classification – peer group for Large Cap Value Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market capitalization range over an extended period of time. Multi-cap value funds typically have below-average characteristics compared to the S&P SuperComposite 1500 Index. The Large Cap Value fund ranked 411 out of 631 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 270 out of 560 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper Small-Cap Core Classification – peer group for Small Cap Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest at least 75% of their equity assets in companies with market capitalizations (on a three-year weighted basis) below Lipper’s USDE small-cap ceiling. Small cap core funds have more latitude in the companies in which they invest. These funds typically have average characteristics compared to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The Small Cap Equity fund ranked 699 out of 852 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 551 out of 743 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper International Multi-Cap Core Classification – peer group for International Equity Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market capitalization range over an extended period of time. International multi-cap funds typically have characteristics compared to the MSCI EAFE Index. The International Equity fund ranked 295 out of 331 funds measured for the one-year ranking period and ranked 17 out of 256 funds measured for the five-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper Real Estate Classification – peer group for Real Estate Fund
Funds invest primarily in equity securities of domestic and foreign companies engaged in the real estate industry. The Real Estate fund ranked 2 out of 247 funds measured for the one-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper Alternative Long/Short Equity Classification – peer group for Long/Short Equity Fund
Funds that employ portfolio strategies combining long holdings of equities with short sales of equities, equity options or equity index options. The funds may be either net long or net short, depending on the portfolio manager’s view of the market. The Long/Short fund ranked 16 out of 242 funds measured for the one-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Lipper Multi-Cap Core Classification – peer group for U.S. All Cap Index Fund
Funds that, by portfolio practice, invest in a variety of market capitalization ranges without concentrating 75% of their equity assets in any one market-capitalization range over an extended period of time. The U.S. All Cap Index fund ranked 471 out of 669 funds measured for the one-year ranking period as of June 30, 2022.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
This commentary has been prepared by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors for informational purposes. Nothing contained herein should be construed as (i) an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any security or (ii) a recommendation as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling any security. Any opinions expressed herein reflect our judgment and are subject to change. Certain of the statements contained herein are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without limitation, (1) general economic conditions, (2) performance of financial markets, (3) interest rate levels, (4) increasing levels of loan defaults, (5) changes in laws and regulations, and (6) changes in the policies of governments and/or regulatory authorities. The opinions, views and information expressed in this commentary regarding holdings are subject to change without notice. The information provided regarding any holdings is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Fund holdings are fluid and are subject to daily change based on market conditions and other factors. Index returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index
Important Mutual Fund Disclosures
Consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. This and other information can be found in the funds’ full or summary prospectuses, which can be obtained by calling 1-844-KC-Funds or by visiting www.kofcassetadvisors.org. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Mutual fund (Knights of Columbus mutual funds were formerly known as Catholic Investor mutual funds) investing involves risk. Some mutual funds have more risk than others. The investment return and principal value will fluctuate and shares when sold may be worth more or less than the original cost. Fixed income investments are subject to interest rate risk, and their value will decline as interest rates rise. Asset allocation and diversification do not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets. There is no guarantee a Fund's objectives will be achieved. The risks associated with each fund are explained more fully in each fund's respective prospectus. Investors should consult with their attorney, accountant, and/or tax professional for advice concerning their particular situation.
Mutual Funds are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, may lose value, and are not a deposit of or guaranteed by any bank or any bank affiliate.
Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor, serves as the investment advisor to each of the Knights of Columbus mutual funds. The Knights of Columbus mutual funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (1 Freedom Valley Dr, Oaks, PA 19456), which is not affiliated with Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors or any of its affiliates.
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