USA Mutuals

Despite the negative rating, an area of strength of the firm is manager investment. Over 17% of the firm's assets are covered by invested managers, in an effort to align portfolio manager and shareholder interests. 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 highest 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. With an average three-year Morningstar Rating of 1.8 stars, the risk-adjusted performance of USA Mutuals's open-end and exchange-traded funds falls short of competitors.