The Merger Fund (MERFX)
The investment seeks capital growth by engaging in merger arbitrage. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its total assets principally in the common stock, preferred stock and, occasionally, warrants of companies which are involved in publicly announced mergers, takeovers, tender offers, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations and other corporate reorganizations. Merger arbitrage is a highly specialized investment approach generally designed to profit from the successful completion of such transactions.
Fund Info
US5895091081
589509108
Jan 30, 1989
$2,500
Expense Ratio
MERFX has a high expense ratio of 1.50%, indicating above-average management fees.
Share Price Chart
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Performance
Performance Chart
The chart shows the growth of an initial investment of $10,000 in The Merger Fund, comparing it to the performance of the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. All prices have been adjusted for splits and dividends.
Returns By Period
The Merger Fund (MERFX) returned 3.21% year-to-date (YTD) and 4.96% over the past 12 months. Over the past 10 years, MERFX returned 1.99% annually, underperforming the S&P 500 benchmark at 10.35%.
MERFX
3.21%
1.26%
2.74%
4.96%
1.74%
1.99%
^GSPC (Benchmark)
-3.93%
11.36%
-1.09%
10.19%
14.74%
10.35%
Monthly Returns
The table below presents the monthly returns of MERFX, with color gradation from worst to best to easily spot seasonal factors. Returns are adjusted for dividends.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.82% | 1.16% | 0.23% | 0.97% | 0.00% | 3.21% | |||||||
| 2024 | -0.06% | -0.00% | 0.58% | -0.93% | 0.35% | 0.64% | 1.51% | 0.17% | 0.00% | 0.06% | 0.17% | -0.73% | 1.76% |
| 2023 | -0.06% | 0.41% | -0.30% | 0.41% | -2.18% | 0.66% | 0.42% | 1.91% | 1.05% | -0.17% | 1.16% | 0.83% | 4.17% |
| 2022 | 0.06% | 0.12% | 0.00% | -0.46% | -0.64% | -0.70% | 1.11% | 0.75% | -0.52% | 0.98% | -0.46% | -2.16% | -1.94% |
| 2021 | 0.52% | 0.74% | -0.40% | 1.19% | 0.34% | -0.90% | -2.49% | 0.17% | 0.52% | -0.12% | -0.12% | 0.12% | -0.46% |
| 2020 | 0.41% | -0.29% | -2.50% | 2.21% | 0.06% | 0.06% | 1.11% | 0.35% | 0.29% | 0.46% | 1.65% | -1.49% | 2.24% |
| 2019 | 0.67% | 0.73% | 0.66% | 0.30% | -0.83% | 0.90% | 0.89% | 0.41% | 0.41% | 0.47% | 0.46% | -0.30% | 4.86% |
| 2018 | 1.57% | 1.79% | -0.91% | -0.12% | 1.66% | 1.69% | -1.30% | 0.30% | 0.90% | -0.30% | 1.67% | -2.76% | 4.14% |
| 2017 | 0.32% | 0.32% | 0.13% | 0.70% | 0.50% | 0.13% | 0.13% | -0.00% | 0.19% | 0.56% | -1.30% | 0.72% | 2.39% |
| 2016 | -1.05% | 0.40% | 1.64% | -0.91% | 1.18% | -0.32% | 0.32% | 0.13% | 0.13% | -0.26% | 0.71% | 0.64% | 2.61% |
| 2015 | -0.32% | 1.80% | -0.06% | 0.00% | 0.50% | -1.19% | -0.19% | -1.21% | -1.35% | 1.50% | -0.39% | -0.30% | -1.26% |
| 2014 | -0.56% | 1.07% | -0.00% | 0.44% | 1.11% | 0.80% | -0.49% | 0.85% | -1.21% | -1.23% | 0.43% | -1.11% | 0.06% |
Risk-Adjusted Performance
Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank
With an overall rank of 90, MERFX is among the top 10% of mutual funds on our website when it comes to balancing risk and reward. Below is a breakdown of how it compares using common performance measures.
Risk-Adjusted Performance Indicators
The charts below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for The Merger Fund (MERFX) and compare them to a chosen benchmark (^GSPC). These indicators evaluate an investment's returns against its associated risks.
Dividends
Dividend History
The Merger Fund provided a 1.71% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $0.30 per share.
| Period | TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend | $0.30 | $0.30 | $0.44 | $0.14 | $0.00 | $0.13 | $0.05 | $0.19 | $0.09 | $0.05 | $0.12 | $0.40 |
Dividend yield | 1.71% | 1.77% | 2.59% | 0.81% | 0.00% | 0.73% | 0.29% | 1.13% | 0.59% | 0.32% | 0.81% | 2.53% |
Monthly Dividends
The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for The Merger Fund. The dividends shown in the table have been adjusted to account for any splits that may have occurred.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | |||||||
| 2024 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| 2023 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.44 | $0.44 |
| 2022 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.14 | $0.14 |
| 2021 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 2020 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.13 | $0.13 |
| 2019 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.05 | $0.05 |
| 2018 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.19 | $0.19 |
| 2017 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.09 | $0.09 |
| 2016 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.05 | $0.05 |
| 2015 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.12 | $0.12 |
| 2014 | $0.40 | $0.40 |
Drawdowns
Drawdowns Chart
The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.
Worst Drawdowns
The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the The Merger Fund. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.
The maximum drawdown for the The Merger Fund was 19.73%, occurring on Jul 25, 2002. Recovery took 1032 trading sessions.
The current The Merger Fund drawdown is 0.06%.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -19.73% | Aug 27, 2001 | 225 | Jul 25, 2002 | 1032 | Aug 31, 2006 | 1257 |
| -16.04% | Oct 19, 2007 | 246 | Oct 10, 2008 | 541 | Dec 3, 2010 | 787 |
| -15.79% | Dec 31, 1997 | 202 | Oct 8, 1998 | 108 | Mar 9, 1999 | 310 |
| -9.99% | Dec 12, 2000 | 12 | Dec 28, 2000 | 1 | Dec 29, 2000 | 13 |
| -9.57% | Dec 26, 2019 | 57 | Mar 18, 2020 | 84 | Jul 17, 2020 | 141 |
Volatility
Volatility Chart
The current The Merger Fund volatility is 0.58%, representing the average percentage change in the investments's value, either up or down over the past month. The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.