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Virtus Duff & Phelps Water A AWTAX Fund Analysis

Morningstar Medalist Rating
| Medalist Rating as of | See Virtus Investment Hub

Morningstar’s Analysis AWTAX

Will AWTAX outperform in future?

Get our overall rating based on a fundamental assessment of the pillars below.

  • Process Pillar

    The Process Pillar is our assessment of how sensible, clearly defined, and repeatable AWTAX’s performance objective and investment process is for both security selection and portfolio construction.

  • People Pillar

    The People Pillar is our evaluation of the AWTAX management team’s experience and ability. We find that high-quality management teams deliver superior performance relative to their benchmarks and/or peers.

  • Parent Pillar

    The Parent Pillar is our rating of AWTAX’s parent organization’s priorities and whether they’re in line with investors’ interests.

Virtus Duff & Phelps Water's Rating Is Under Review Following Comanager's Sudden Departure

null William Samuel Rocco

William Samuel Rocco

Analyst Note

Virtus recently disclosed that Evan Lang gave up his comanager position on Virtus Duff & Phelps Water on April 5, 2024, and had left the firm. David Grumhaus, who is the CIO of Duff & Phelps and who became a comanager on the fund in mid-2022, remains in place and has 31 years of investment experience. Nick Holmes, who became a comanager on the fund in early 2023 and has 14 years of experience, also remains in place. Three analysts continue to provide support, though a former member retired in 2023. The fund's process remains the same, and the team is continuing to target sustainable water solutions and invest in companies actively addressing water scarcity and quality issues to improve the sustainability of global water resources. Given Grumhaus' and Holmes' fairly short tenures on the fund and the significance of Lang's loss, the strategy's Morningstar Medalist Rating is now Under Review.

by William Samuel Rocco
Published on

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