NEW YORK, March 3, 2021 – AXS Investments, a leading alternative investment manager, today announced the firm has been named winner of the SMArtX 2021 Award for the “Best Risk Adjusted Returns – Alternatives” for its AXS Multi-Strategy Alternatives Fund (KCMTX) strategy.

Winners were chosen from among 725 strategies available on the SMArtX Advisory Solutions platform based on annual performance data for the period ending 12/31/2020. AXS Investments’ Multi-Strategy Alternatives competed against over 30 alternative investment strategies and was recognized for achieving the best alternatives risk-adjusted return.

“We’re thrilled to have earned this distinguished recognition for our multi-strategy alternatives solution for investors,” said Greg Bassuk, Chairman and CEO of AXS Investments. “With a very strong and nearly thirteen-year live performance track record, our multi-alternative strategy has shown its consistent ability to perform in all market cycles, including some of the most volatile environments our markets historically have experienced. Our long-term and 2020 performance amid major market shocks and volatility is emblematic of how we expect the fund to continue to perform to enhance investor portfolios.”

The reliability and constancy of the strategy’s performance are among the many factors driving the 4-Star rating of the AXS Multi-Strategy Alternatives Fund. In the Morningstar long-short equity category, KCMIX and KCMTX received an overall rating of 4 stars and 3 stars, respectively, based on risk-adjusted returns as of 12/31/2020. Both received a 3-year rating of 3 stars out of 188 funds, 5-year rating of 4 stars out of 148 funds and 10-year rating of 4 stars out of 49 funds.

The SMArtX 2021 Virtual Awards were introduced by a variety of celebrities, including Mark McGrath, lead singer of Sugar Ray, who introduced AXS portfolio manager Parker Binion with a short rendition of the band’s hit “Fly,” which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Charts in 1997.

Download fact sheet for fund performance and fees

Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. For most recent month end performance visit www.axsinvestments.com.

About AXS Investments

AXS Investments is a leading alternative investment manager providing a diversified family of alternative and sustainable investments for investors seeking alternative sources of growth, income and diversification. The firm empowers investors to diversify their portfolios with investments previously available only to the largest institutional and high net worth investors. The investor-friendly AXS funds are time-tested, liquid, transparent and managed by high pedigreed portfolio managers with long and strong track records. For more information, visit www.axsinvestments.com.

About SMArtX Advisory Solutions

SMArtX Advisory Solutions is the next generation managed accounts technology provider and manages SMArtX, a turnkey asset management platform and the only platform to seamlessly offer traditional, alternative, and passive direct index strategies in a unified managed account structure. The firm also licenses its proprietary managed accounts technology to replace help firms replace legacy technology and power several investment platforms for RIAs, broker-dealers, and asset managers. Learn more about SMArtX Advisory Solutions at www.smartxadvisory.com.

About Morningstar Ratings

In the Morningstar long-short equity category, KCMIX and KCMTX received an overall rating of 4 stars and 3 stars, respectively, based on risk-adjusted returns as of 12/31/2020. Both received a 3-year rating of 3 stars out of 188 funds, 5-year rating of 4 stars out of 148 funds and 10-year rating of 4 stars out of 49 funds.

The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or "star rating," is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics.

The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Morningstar Rating is for the I share classes; other classes may have different performance characteristics.

© 2021 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

Important Risk Disclosure

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

The Fund may invest in small, less well-known companies, which may be subject to more erratic market movements than large cap stocks; foreign securities, which are subject to currency fluctuations and political uncertainty; and derivative securities, which may carry market, credit and liquidity risks. The Fund may also engage in short selling activities, which are more risky than long positions because the potential loss on a short sale is unlimited. The Fund may use leveraging and/or hedging techniques that could fail if changes in the value of the derivative do not correlate with the securities being hedged. These risks may result in greater share price volatility.

Risks of futures contracts may arise from an imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the instruments and the price of the underlying securities. The Fund’s use of futures contracts exposes the Fund to leverage risk because of small margin requirements relative to futures contract value. Swap transactions may alter the Fund’s exposure to long-term or short-term interest rates, foreign currency values, corporate borrowing rates, or other factors such as security prices or inflation rates and also may alter the Fund’s volatility. Selling covered calls limits the upside potential of the underlying security. Selling put options may require the Fund to purchase the underlying securities during periods of declining prices. Premiums paid to purchase options lose value over time and may be lost entirely, if the option expires before it is feasible to be exercised. The protection from selling puts is limited to the strike price minus the premium paid. Investing in REITs involves risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. Generally, fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall. Exposure to the commodities markets (including financial futures markets) may subject the Fund to greater volatility.

There are risks involved with investing including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Diversification does not ensure profits or prevent losses. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the fund before investing. To obtain a prospectus containing this and other important information, please click here to view or download a prospectus online. Read the fund’s prospectus carefully before you invest.

Distributed by IMST Distributors, LLC, which is not affiliated with AXS.