WEMIX

Emerging Growth Fund

$12.41
NAV

+$0.11 / +0.89%
1-day change
$280.5M
Fund assets
20.97%
Year-to-date return
1/31/2007
Fund inception date
Data as of 12/20/2024
Emerging Growth Fund
Fund overview
A unique combination of longevity and success
The Emerging Growth Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in small-cap companies where growth is robust, sustainable, and underappreciated.

The fund focuses on stocks with underappreciated potential, investing primarily in small-cap companies.  

Key differentiators

  • Emphasizes consistency of returns within a strong risk management framework centered on sell discipline 

  • Seasoned, stable investment team with key decision-makers who have an average of 24 years of investment experience 

  • Differentiated, extensive track record delivering significant alpha since inception 

General facts

Morningstar category

Small Growth

Lipper category

Small-Cap Growth Funds

Ticker

WEMIX

CUSIP

949921688

Fund number

3157

Benchmark name

Russell 2000® Growth Index

Gross expense ratio

1.08%

(as of 9/1/2024)

Net expense ratio

0.90%

(as of 9/1/2024)

Dividend frequency

Annually

Active share

86.79

(as of 11/30/2024)

Quick resources

Fact sheet Summary Prospectus Full Prospectus

Morningstar Rating™

Out of 536 funds, Small Growth As of 11/30/2024


An investment’s Overall Morningstar Rating™, based on its risk-adjusted return, is a weighted average of its applicable 3-, 5-, and 10-year Ratings.

Performance

Average annual returns

Average annual returns

(as of 11/30/2024)
1/31/2007
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
Inception
Fund
12.14
11.70
29.63
39.62
-4.17
8.94
9.98
9.45
Russell 2000® Growth Index
12.26
12.24
25.42
40.44
3.25
9.19
9.34
8.77
Lipper Small-Cap Growth Funds
10.93
10.85
23.93
36.34
1.65
10.07
10.16
-
Expenses (as of 9/1/2024)
Gross Expense Ratio
1.08 %
Net Expense Ratio
0.90 %

One-month, three-month and year-to-date returns are not annualized.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on an investment in a fund. Investment return, principal value, and yields 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 may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. 

Net asset value (NAV) is the value of one share of the fund excluding any sales charges.

Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Please keep in mind that high double-digit returns were primarily achieved during favorable market conditions. You should not expect that such favorable returns can be consistently achieved. A fund's performance, especially for short time periods, should not be the sole factor in making your investment decision.

The manager has contractually committed, through 8/31/2025, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the fund's total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers at 0.9%. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Without this cap, the fund's returns would have been lower. The expense ratio paid by an investor is the net expense ratio (the total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers) as stated in the prospectus.

Calendar year

Calendar year

(as of 12/31/2023)
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Fund
4.51
-34.40
7.79
58.79
25.38
1.38
26.27
7.63
-2.79
-1.90
Benchmark
18.66
-26.36
2.83
34.63
28.48
-9.31
22.17
11.32
-1.38
5.60
Morningstar
16.68
-27.77
11.89
38.62
27.68
-5.76
21.50
11.20
-2.41
2.44
Growth of $10,000

Growth of a $10,000 investment

(as of 11/30/2024)

This chart shows the value of a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the fund over the specified time period up to 10 years or since its inception (for funds lacking 10-year records). The result is compared with benchmarks, which may include a broad-based market index and a peer group average or index. Market indexes do not include expenses, which are deducted from fund returns as well as mutual fund averages and indexes.

Does not include sales charges and assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. If sales charges were included, returns would be lower.

Performance and volatility metrics

Performance and volatility metrics

(as of 11/30/2024)
3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
Alpha -7.11 0.04 6.87
Beta 0.97 1.01 1.02
Excess Return -7.43 -0.25 0.64
Information Ratio -0.97 -0.03 0.09
Sharpe Ratio -0.34 0.25 0.36
R2 0.90 0.90 0.90
Tracking Error 7.67 8.38 7.18
Standard Deviation 24.04 26.04 22.57
Upside Market Capture Ratio 76.63 102.19 114.75
Downside Market Capture Ratio 104.06 100.93 100.77
Morningstar ratings and rankings

Morningstar ratings and rankings

(as of 11/30/2024)
Overall
Small Growth (Out of 536 funds)
Three Year
90th percentile (487 out of 536)
Five Year
72nd percentile (341 out of 517)
Ten Year
51st percentile (179 out of 395)

The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) ratings.

Morningstar rankings represent a fund's total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category. The percentile ranking is based on the fund's total return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. The highest (most favorable) percentile rank is 1% and the lowest (least favorable) percentile rank is 100%. Morningstar rankings do not include the effect of sales charges. The absolute ranking is based on the fund’s total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Prices and distributions

Historical prices
YTD high $14.21 12/4/2024
YTD low $10.33 1/7/2024
52-week high $14.21 12/4/2024
52-week low $10.33 1/7/2024
2023 high $11.74 7/18/2023
2023 low $9.00 10/29/2023
Best quarterly return 42.88% 6/30/2020
Worst quarterly return -24.94% 6/30/2022
Best annual return 58.79% 12/31/2020
Worst annual return -34.40% 12/31/2022

Distribution summary
Dividends Annually
Capital gains Annually

Distribution history

Distribution history Type Per share amount Reinvestment price
2024-12-16 Long-term capital gain $0.80662 $12.91
2024-12-15 Long-term capital gain $0.80662 $12.91
2024-12-14 Long-term capital gain $0.80662 $12.91
2021-12-14 Long-term capital gain $5.50924 $15.22
2020-12-11 Long-term capital gain $3.8388 $18.96
2020-12-11 Short-term capital gain $0.30929 $18.96
2019-12-12 Long-term capital gain $0.76405 $15.11
2018-12-12 Long-term capital gain $2.84278 $13.88
2018-12-12 Short-term capital gain $0.33298 $13.88
2017-12-11 Long-term capital gain $1.9485 $15.33
2017-12-11 Short-term capital gain $0.00262 $15.33
2016-12-07 Long-term capital gain $0.84428 $14.22
2015-12-09 Long-term capital gain $1.7414 $13.88
2014-12-09 Long-term capital gain $1.02559 $15.86
2014-12-09 Short-term capital gain $0.17753 $15.86
2013-12-11 Long-term capital gain $1.18024 $16.42
2012-12-10 Long-term capital gain $0.67894 $12.05
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Composition

Portfolio statistics

Portfolio statistics

(as of 11/30/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Holdings 80 1111
Median Market Cap 6.86 1.27
Dividend Yield 0.08 0.52
P/E (1-year EPS forecast) 41.52 43.02
P/B Ratio 6.06 4.84
EPS Growth 20.64 14.23
Return on Equity 3.69 4.14
Portfolio Turnover 72.15 -

Equity Style Box

(as of 11/30/2024) Overview chart

Placement within the Morningstar Equity Style Box is based on two variables: relative median market capitalization and relative price valuations (price/book and price/earnings) of the fund’s portfolio holdings. These numbers are drawn from the fund’s portfolio holdings figures most recently entered into Morningstar’s database and the corresponding market conditions. The Ownership Zone is represented by a shaded area surrounding the centroid. This zone encompasses 75% of a portfolio’s holdings on an asset-weighted basis and is designed to be a visual measure of how wide-ranging the portfolio is.

Holdings

Top 10 holdings

(as of 11/30/2024)
Security
Fund
RadNet, Inc.
3.22%
Sterling Infrastructure, Inc.
2.50%
Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc. Class A
2.36%
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
2.25%
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Class A
2.24%
CyberArk Software Ltd.
2.21%
AAON, Inc.
2.14%
Carpenter Technology Corporation
2.08%
Commvault Systems, Inc.
1.97%
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc.
1.96%
View All Holdings
Top 10 represents 22.93% of total net assets
Sector allocation

Sector allocation

(as of 11/30/2024)
Type
Fund
Benchmark
Industrials
 25.94% 23.11%
Information technology
 24.45% 19.53%
Health care
 23.98% 23.69%
Consumer discretionary
 9.92% 10.22%
Financials
 6.68% 8.91%
Consumer staples
 4.21% 3.39%
Materials
 2.90% 3.84%
Communication services
 1.39% 2.07%
Real estate
 0.53% 1.45%
Utilities
 0.00% 0.45%
Energy
 0.00% 3.33%

Sector diversification is a breakdown of the fund's investments based on the S&P Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), a breakdown of market sectors used by Standard & Poor's. Sector weights are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Documents

Literature Details Frequency
Fact Sheet R6, Administrator, Institutional, A, C Quarterly Download
Regulatory Document Details Date
Annual Report R6, Administrator, Institutional, A, C 4/30/2024 Download
Full Prospectus Institutional 9/1/2024 Download
Quarterly Holdings R6, Administrator, Institutional, A, C 2/29/2024 Download
Quarterly Holdings R6, Administrator, Institutional, A, C 7/31/2024 Download
Semi-annual Report R6, Administrator, Institutional, A, C 11/30/2023 Download
Statement of Additional Information R6, Administrator, Institutional, A, C 9/1/2024 Download
Summary Prospectus Institutional 9/13/2024 Download
Our team
Meet the investment team

The team seeks a style-pure dedication to growth, targeting consistency of returns and focusing on fundamental, bottom-up, all-cap research to identify businesses with sustainable growth.

View Team
Robert

Robert Gruendyke

Portfolio Manager
David

David Nazaret

Portfolio Manager
Michael T.

Michael T. Smith

Head of Growth Equity
Christopher

Christopher Warner

Portfolio Manager

Key risks

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Smaller company stocks tend to be more volatile and less liquid than those of larger companies. Consult the fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

Contact Us

We look forward to helping you with your investment needs

 

More Contact Options

  
The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or star rating, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36–59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60–119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Some of Morningstar’s proprietary calculations, including the Morningstar Rating™, are not customarily calculated based on adjusted historical returns. However, for new share classes/channels, Morningstar may calculate an extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended performance is calculated by adjusting the historical total returns of the oldest share class of a fund to reflect the fee structure of the younger share class/channel, attaching this data to the younger share class’s performance record, and then compounding the adjusted plus actual monthly returns into the extended-performance Morningstar risk-adjusted return for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year time periods. The Morningstar risk-adjusted returns are used to determine the extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended-performance Morningstar Rating for this fund does not affect the retail fund data published by Morningstar, as the bell curve distribution on which the ratings are based includes only funds with actual returns. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share funds is based on actual performance only or extended performance only. Once the share class turns three years old, the Overall Morningstar Rating will be based on actual ratings only. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share variable annuities is based on a weighted average of any ratings that are available.

While the inclusion of pre-inception data in the form of extended performance can provide valuable insight into the probable long-term behavior of newer share classes of a fund, investors should be aware that an adjusted historical return can provide only an approximation of that behavior. For example, the fee structures of a retail share class will vary from that of an institutional share class, as retail shares tend to have higher operating expenses and sales charges. These adjusted historical returns are not actual returns. The underlying investments in the share classes used to calculate the pre-performance string likely will vary from the underlying investments held in the fund after inception. Calculation methodologies used by Morningstar may differ from those applied by other entities, including the fund itself.

The manager has contractually committed to certain fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Without these reductions, the fund’s returns would have been lower and rankings may have been lower. These reductions may be discontinued.

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Performance for the fund or the class shown may reflect a predecessor fund's or class' performance and may be adjusted to reflect the fund's or class' expenses as applicable.