VICE FUND: JULY 2021 – COMMENTARY LETTER
For the month of July, the Fund was -3.20%.
Market Review
Equity markets continued their modest summer rally shrugging off inflation fears. U.S. 10-year Treasuries followed suit with yields dropping from the 1.7% range in late March to the 1.2% range in late July. Equity markets have swiftly shifted back to a “risk-on” sentiment with growth continuing to outpace value.
Despite these tailwinds, the COVID-19 Delta variant has created more uncertainty around customers coming back to casinos. The Fund’s casino gaming stocks have suffered in this period across the board. U.S. casino gaming stocks are in general approaching their March and April 2020 lows. We believe that a snapback in casino gaming stocks is a possibility with the cessation of the Delta variant.
The Fund’s recent drawdown is still in the single digits despite the massive haircut in casino gaming names. The Fund’s casino gaming stocks followed suit downward with the whole industry. We feel the Fund’s negative outcome this month due mainly to casino gaming benefited from diversification and the global equity rally. We believe VICEX has a plum opportunity to perform if the recent Delta variant scare proves short-term only and casino stocks rally hard. Investors looking for exposure to the re-opening trade may be served well in this scenario.
Sincerely yours,
Past performance does not guarantee future results. The performance data quoted represents past performance and current returns may be lower or higher. Share prices and investment returns fluctuate and an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than original cost upon redemption. For performance data as of the most recent month-end please call 1-866-264-8783.
Standardized performance as of (6/30/2021) Fund Inception (02/01/2002)
| 1 Year | 5 Year | 10 Year | Since Inception | |
| VICEX | 27.04% | 6.83% | 9.12% | 9.10% |
| MSCI World Index | 39.87% | 15.20% | 10.48% | 9.74% |
Investor Class performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance of the fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by calling 1-866-264-8783. Returns over one year are annualized. The Gross and Net expense 1.67% and 1.49%. Contractual fee waivers through 07/31/2022.
DEFINITIONS:
The MSCI All Country World Index Total Return (“MSCI ACWI TR”) captures large and mid-cap representation across 23 Developed Markets (DM) and 26 Emerging Markets (EM) countries.
SYMBOL: VICEX
6529-NLD-09142021