Aside from the overall view, portfolio managers at USA Mutuals have made a notable effort to align their interests with shareholders' by taking a personal stake and investing alongside them. Nearly 17% of the firm’s assets are represented by a manager who invests in their respective product. Open-end and exchange-traded fund fees are a weakness at the firm, contributing negatively to the rating. On average, the firm charges fees on its funds that are in the most expensive quintile of category peers. With the current market environment of fee compression, this is cause for concern, as investors may flock to alternate asset managers over time to get a better deal. Average tenure of seven years among the longest-tenured managers at USA Mutuals is on par with peer firms. In isolation, seasoned teams tend to have more experience to draw upon should they need to weather turbulent market conditions.
USA Mutuals has a ways to go to become an industry-standard steward, resulting in a Below Average Parent Pillar rating.