vest

Fees on the firm's open-end and exchange-traded funds are a weakness, contributing negatively to the rating and creating a larger performance hurdle on funds. On average, vest charges fees on its funds that are in the second most-expensive quintile of similarly distributed funds. With the current market environment of fee compression, this is cause for concern, as investors may flock over time to alternate asset managers to get a better deal. Only three years of average tenure among vest's longest-tenured managers gives us pause. In isolation, seasoned teams tend to have more experience to draw upon should they need to navigate turbulent market conditions. The firm’s lineup has demonstrated industry-average durability. Its three-year risk-adjusted success ratio is 60%, meaning that 60% of funds have survived and beaten their respective category median on a risk-adjusted basis. A low success ratio not only indicates weak performance but it can raise flags about a firm's discipline around investment strategy and product development.