Featured Commentaries Archive
- January 16, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/River Road Select Value Fund
One of the Most Volatile Years on Record
Stocks soared during the fourth quarter as investors responded to both improving U.S. economic trends and a series of actions taken by the European Central Bank intended to stabilize that region’s financial markets. Small-cap stocks led the rally, with the Russell 2000 Index gaining more than 15% versus just under 12% for the more large-cap oriented S&P 500 Index. For the full year 2011, however, large-cap stocks outperformed—with the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 indices posting modest gains versus a 4% loss for the Russell 2000. The Fund’s Russell 2500 Value Index benchmark dropped 3.4%. This marks the first year since 2007 that large-caps outperformed small-caps.
.. Read full article. - January 15, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/River Road Long-Short Fund
Intense Volatility
The volatility that dominated the stock market in recent years did not abate during the fourth quarter. The market oscillated between fear and greed, declining each time the perceived liquidity or solvency risk in Europe grew, only to rebound after each intervention by the European Central Bank. By year end, the trailing 100-day volatility of the S&P 500 Index was at a level only seen three times (1987, 2002, and 2009) since the 1930s. .. Read full article. Intense Volatility
The volatility that has dominated equity markets in recent years did not abate during the fourth quarter of 2011. The market oscillated between fear and greed, declining each time the perceived liquidity or solvency risk in Europe grew, only to rebound after each intervention by the European Central Bank. By year end, the trailing 100-day volatility of the broad-market S&P 500 Index was at a level only seen three times (1987, 2002, and 2009) since the 1930s. Looking at the Dow Jones Industrial Average, there were 12 downward corrections of at least 5% in 2011, nearly double the long-term average of seven per year... Read full article.- January 13, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Neptune International Fund
The Fund performed strongly during the fourth quarter of 2011 in delivering positive returns and outpacing its MSCI EAFE & Emerging Markets Index benchmark. After an extremely weak and volatile third quarter, positive sentiment returned to global markets in October as hopes regarding a resolution to the Eurozone crisis increased. The Fund performed well thanks to notable performances by holdings in Russia and China. Moreover, overweight stakes in sectors linked to global growth themes—especially those exposed to domestic consumption within Emerging Markets—outperformed, with Energy in particular significantly contributing to the Fund's relative performance... Read full article.
- January 13, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/M.D. Sass Enhanced Equity Fund
The Fund outperformed the broad market S&P 500 Index by more than two percentage points during 2011, despite lagging the index sharply during the market's strong fourth quarter rally. All in all, we think results for the year clearly point to the benefit of the Fund’s strategy of selling calls and periodically owning put options in particularly volatile markets... Read full article.
- January 13, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Barings International Fund
International equities, as defined by the Fund’s MSCI EAFE Index benchmark, rose more than 3% during the fourth quarter, helping to recover some of the losses that occurred during a poor third quarter. The global economic recovery is continuing, but at a weak pace and with the main risks that we have highlighted before—a European banking/sovereign default, a China slowdown, or a relapse into recession—still present... Read full article.
- January 13, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Lake Partners LASSO Alternatives
Although US equity markets posted strong results during the fourth quarter, the investment environment continued to display the same roller-coaster volatility that characterized much of 2011. For example, while the broad market S&P 500 Index rose 11.8% by the end of the quarter, it had quite a ride getting there: The index climbed 13.7% from September 30 through October 27, then plunged 9.6% by November 25, only to jump back up 9.0% over the next eight trading days before moving sideways in a narrow range for the rest of December... Read full article.
- January 11, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Veredus Select Growth Fund
In 2011, the market experienced the third year out of the past four where the correlations of stocks within the broad market S&P 500 Index to the overall index spiked above the 80% level. This is unprecedented. Prior to the great recession of 2007 to 2009, this had only happened once since 1974—during the Crash of 1987. Furthermore, according to Jason Goepfort of sentimentrader.com there were 44 days in 2011 in which 90% of the trading volume in the market was either up or down... Read full article.
- January 11, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Veredus Aggressive Growth Fund
In 2011, the market experienced the third year out of the past four where the correlations of stocks within the broad market S&P 500 Index to the overall index spiked above the 80% level. This is unprecedented. Prior to the great recession of 2007 to 2009, this had only happened once since 1974—during the Crash of 1987. Furthermore, according to Jason Goepfort of sentimentrader.com there were 44 days in 2011 in which 90% of the trading volume in the market was either up or down. .. Read full article.
One of the Most Volatile Years on Record
Stocks soared during the fourth quarter as investors responded to both improving U.S. economic trends and a series of actions taken by the European Central Bank intended to stabilize that region’s financial markets. Small-cap stocks led the rally, with the Russell 2000 Index gaining more than 15% versus just under 12% for the more large-cap oriented S&P 500 Index. For the full year 2011, however, large-cap stocks outperformed—with the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 indices posting modest gains versus a 4% loss for the Russell 2000. This marks the first year since 2007 that large-caps outperformed small-caps.
.. Read full article.- January 5, 2012 4th Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Herndon Large Cap Value
2011 Review
In 1986, legendary R&B singer Luther Vandross won a Grammy Award for the album The Night I Fell in Love in the category of Best R&B Vocal Performance for a Male singer. One of the memorable songs on that album was It’s Over Now. As the market finished 2011, I echoed that sentiment. After a thoroughly lackluster fourth quarter, the Fund ended the year essentially flat (-0.54%; N shares) on an absolute return basis in underperforming its Russell 1000 Value Index benchmark (+0.39%) by less than a percentage point... Read full article. Market Rebound
Stocks rebounded nicely off their early October lows as more encouraging economic data in the U.S. put to rest fears of a double-dip recession. European leaders also successfully bought themselves more time to deal with their systemic debt issues with a program allowing the European Central Bank to supply additional liquidity. .. Read full article.- October 28, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Harrison Street Real Estate Fund
REITs Outpace Broader Financials
The third quarter of 2011 was a tough one for U.S. Equity markets, with the broad market S&P 500 Index down nearly 14%. Worse still was the performance of the Financials sector within the S&P 500, which dropped almost 23%. Fortunately, real estate securities held up better than the broader Financials sector, with REIT indices declining roughly 15%. .. Read full article. The Fund significantly outperformed its Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index benchmark from its July 18, 2011 inception through the end of the third quarter. Holdings in investment grade credit outperformed the market while the government portion of the portfolio also outperformed. Both of these sectors continue to be underweight positions in the portfolio versus the index. The Fund’s mortgage-backed securities (MBS) component outperformed the MBS in the benchmark despite the price drop in the non-Agency MBS, which the portfolio is also overweight. Agency MBS outperformed as well due to portfolio holdings in longer duration Agency collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs). The Fund’s allocation to Emerging Market fixed-income detracted from returns during the quarter... Read full article.
- October 28, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Montag & Caldwell Balanced Fund
Operation Twist
After less than 1% real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth during the first half of 2011, the economy is not showing much improvement thus far in the second half of the year. The loss of economic momentum combined with only modest gains in employment and reduced consumer and business confidence are reasons for the disappointing improvement that we now forecast for the second half of 2011. Historically, recoveries following a financial crisis, such as we recently experienced, have usually been modest and bumpy. .. Read full article. - October 28, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/TCH Fixed Income Fund
The Fund underperformed its Barclays Capital US Aggregate Bond Index benchmark during the quarter, in what proved to be the index’s strongest performance since the fourth quarter of 2008. Relative returns lagged mainly owing to a sizeable underweight to US Treasury Bonds (and a corresponding overweight to Corporate bonds) as investors generally sought safety given concerns about the financial stability of Europe and the turmoil in equity markets. Despite a new record low yield in the 10-year Treasury, long-term Treasuries outperformed intermediate Treasuries by more than 21 percentage points as long Treasuries posted their best quarterly returns ever. Corporate bonds trailed duration-matched Treasuries by nearly 5 percentage points. .. Read full article.
- October 26, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Crosswind Small Cap Growth Fund
The third quarter was marked with uncertainty from all angles of the macroeconomic landscape. The US debt ceiling, the US credit downgrade, uncertainty regarding Europe and its financial institutions, and sovereign risk in general all came together during the period to foster an environment of extreme risk aversion. The Fund’s Russell 2000 Growth Index benchmark dropped more than 22%, as the downward pressure on stocks during August and September erased positive gains from earlier in the year. The Fund itself lagged the benchmark by a sizeable margin... Read full article.
- October 24, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/TAMRO Small Cap Fund
You Can Lead a Horse to Water …
What a disappointing quarter for stock investors, particularly in small-caps. Whatever stimulus the Federal Government provides, the follow through of growth into the private economy has been ephemeral. The consumer, who represents at least two-thirds of the economy, is still de-leveraging—which will take years to unwind—despite a lot of liquidity in the financial system. .. Read full article. - October 24, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/TAMRO Diversified Equity Fund
You Can Lead a Horse to Water …
What a disappointing quarter for stock investors, particularly in small-caps. Whatever stimulus the Federal Government provides, the follow through of growth into the private economy has been ephemeral. The consumer, who represents at least two-thirds of the economy, is still de-leveraging—which will take years to unwind—despite a lot of liquidity in the financial system. .. Read full article. - October 24, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Barings International Fund
Unnerved Equity Markets
The Fund’s MSCI EAFE Index benchmark fell sharply during the third quarter of 2011, erasing the gains international equities has made during the first half of the year. Developments during the summer unnerved most equity markets. The main issue has been the weakening economic outlook in a number of regions. .. Read full article. - October 19, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Montag & Caldwell Growth Fund
After less than 1% real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth during the first half of 2011, the economy is not showing much improvement thus far in the second half of the year. The loss of economic momentum combined with only modest gains in employment and reduced consumer and business confidence are reasons for the disappointing improvement that we now forecast for the second half of 2011. Historically, recoveries following a financial crisis, such as we recently experienced, have usually been modest and bumpy. .. Read full article.
- October 17, 2011 3rd Quarter 2011 Commentary - ASTON/Neptune International Fund
International equity markets were extremely weak during the third quarter. A U.S. sovereign debt downgrade, continued concerns over the unresolved Eurozone debt crisis, China growth slowdown fears, and the apparent paralysis of policymakers were just a few of the factors to undermine investor confidence. Although corporate news remained resilient for the majority of companies reporting during the period, equity markets remained very much focused on the weakening macroeconomic outlook. Consequently, equity valuations moved lower in anticipation of tougher times ahead. .. Read full article.
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