Absolute Advisers

A cause for concern at Absolute Advisers is its inexperienced longest-tenured managers. In particular, the cohort has only two years of average asset-weighted tenure, negatively contributing to the rating. 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 second 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. Absolute Advisers has exhibited a reliable and stable portfolio management culture over the past five years, as evidenced by lower-than-average turnover, strengthening the assessment of the firm's stewardship.