VICE FUND: AUGUST 2021 – COMMENTARY LETTER
For the month of August, the Fund was -0.03%.
Market Review
The equities bull market continued through the summer with most major markets in the positive. The gains have been across market sectors with Materials, Information, and Technology as the highest performers over the period. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell struck a cautious tone at the Jackson Hole symposium. He reiterated a desire to see further progress in the labor market that was perceived as dovish on rates. Commodities were generally negative in August with the sharpest declines in energy with slower demand for oil.
The Delta variant of COVID-19 continued to spread across the U.S. and Europe. This added to continued pressure on consumer discretionary equities including most casino stocks held by the fund. The added worries around Chinese government regulation and less accommodative licensing to Macau casino companies were also a drag on performance. This potential for government intervention continues to be the key headline through September.
On the regulation in Macau, we feel the main real threat is that concessions to casinos may not be renewed next summer. We believe this is not a likely outcome as it would potentially devastate investment from the U.S. and Europe into China. It is still a possible outcome, however. We feel there may continue to be downward moves with negative headlines in the near term, but that the risk/reward at these levels in Macau casino stocks is potentially a good opportunity.
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 (9/30/2021) Fund Inception (02/01/2002)
| 1 Year | 5 Year | 10 Year | Since Inception | |
| VICEX | 10.07% | 3.69% | 9.55% | 8.33% |
| MSCI World Index | 27.98% | 13.77% | 12.50% | 9.56% |
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
