The Merger Fund (MERFX)

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The Merger Fund (MERFX) is up 1.0% since the beginning of the year. MERFX is currently trading at $17 per share. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of MERFX shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,158.

The Merger Fund (MERFX) has returned 1.04% so far this year and 4.60% over the past 12 months. Over the last ten years, MERFX has returned 3.90% per year, falling short of the S&P 500 Index benchmark, which averaged 13.88% annually.

Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since Jan 31, 1989, MERFX's average daily return is +0.02%, while the average monthly return is +0.36%. At this rate, an investment would double in approximately 16.1 years.

Historically, 74% of months were positive and 26% were negative. The best month was Nov 1990 with a return of +4.9%, while the worst month was Dec 1996 at -8.4%. The longest winning streak lasted 26 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 4 months.

On a daily basis, MERFX closed higher 49% of trading days. The best single day was Dec 30, 1997 with a return of +11.8%, while the worst single day was Dec 31, 1997 at -10.1%.

The Merger Fund has an annualized alpha of 3.06%, beta of 0.13, and R2 of 0.14 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since January 31, 1989.

• This fund participates in less of S&P 500 Index's moves in both directions, but captures a larger share of gains (17.77%) than losses (7.17%) - typical of diversified or defensive assets.
• Beta of 0.13 may look defensive, but with R2 of 0.14 this fund is largely uncorrelated with S&P 500 Index - low beta reflects independence, not downside protection. See the Volatility section for a true picture of this fund's risk.
• R2 of 0.14 means this fund moves largely independently of S&P 500 Index - capture ratios reflect limited market correlation rather than active downside protection. Consider using a more representative benchmark.

MERFX has a high expense ratio of 1.50%, indicating above-average management fees.

MERFX ranks 97 for risk / return — in the top 97% of mutual funds on our site. This means strong returns relative to risk — exactly what professional investors look for. Well-suited for investors who want to maximize return per unit of risk.

The Merger Fund provided a 7.34% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $1.28 per share. The fund has been increasing its distributions for 2 consecutive years.

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.

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.

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 20.82%, occurring on Sep 27, 1990. Recovery took 739 trading sessions.

The current The Merger Fund drawdown is 0.17%.

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.