With a one year loss of just under 38%, this concentrated, energy focused, small cap offering lagged its peers by a pretty big margin. Looking at some of its holdings, it’s not hard to see why. Baytex Energy has a one year loss of -81%, Journey Energy is down 74%, and MEG Energy is down 72%. This type of performance is not out of character for Front Street. They tend to take concentrated positions, and make a lot of big bets. When they win, they win big, like they did in 2009 when they were up more than 111%. Even in 2008 the fund gained 16.3%, while most other equity funds sold off. But it is also prone to big losses, and has lost money in every years since 2010.
Looking at the risk reward characteristics of this fund, I believe there are better alternatives available for investors looking for resource exposure in their portfolios. Even though they are highly energy focused, I would still most likely lean towards either the Canoe Energy Income Fund or the Canoe Energy Fund.