6 9

Commodity Strategy Fund

MCSAX
$ 3.60
$0.01 As of 04/18/24
$886M
As of 03/31/24

Commodity Strategy Fund

MCSAX
$0.01 As of 04/18/24
As of 03/31/24
MCSAX
$ 3.6
$0.01 As of 04/18/24
$886M
As of 03/31/24
  • Overview

    INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

    Seeks total return.

    INVESTMENT FOCUS

    Invests in commodity-linked instruments and debt securities

    Provides broad exposure to the commodities markets

    Uses proprietary quantitative models to make allocation decisions

    Fund Information

    • Fund Commencement 06/02/10
    • Net Assets ($ M) As of 03/31/24 $886.80
    • Fiscal Year End OCTOBER
    • Benchmark

      Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index tracks trades on futures contracts for physical commodities, such as energy (petroleum, gas), precious metals (gold, silver), industrial metals (zinc, copper),grains (corn, wheat), livestock (live cattle/ lean hogs), among others, and are traded in a variety of currencies.

      Bloomberg Commodity Index

    Share Class Information

    • Class Inception 06/02/10
    • Net Asset Value (NAV) As of 04/18/24 $3.60
    • Most Recent NAV Change As of 04/18/24 $0.01 | 0.28%
    • Fund Number 1042
    • Maximum Sales Charge 5.75%
    • Gross Expense Ratio

      Gross Expense Ratio: The Gross Expense Ratio is the fund's total operating expense ratio from the fund's most recent prospectus.

      1.15%
    • Net Expense Ratio

      Net Expense Ratio: The Net Expense Ratio reflects the reduction of expenses from contractual fee waivers and reimbursements. Elimination of these reductions will result in higher expenses and lower performance.


      These reductions will continue until at least 02/28/25

      1.14%

    MANAGERS

    Commodity Exposures (%)

    As of 03/31/24
    Commodity Exposures (%)
    Portfolio Bloomberg Commodity Index Underweight/ Overweight
    Softs 10.4 7.7 2.7
    Cotton 3.5 1.8 1.7
    Sugar 4.2 2.9 1.3
    Coffee 2.8 3.0 -0.2
    Energy 30.4 29.4 1.0
    WTI Crude Oil 8.8 8.1 0.7
    Natural Gas 5.9 5.3 0.6
    Unleaded Gasoline 3.4 2.8 0.6
    Gas/Oil 2.8 2.9 -0.1
    Heating Oil 2.0 2.2 -0.2
    Brent Crude 7.6 8.2 -0.6
    Livestock 5.8 6.1 -0.3
    Lean Hogs 2.4 2.5 -0.1
    Live Cattle 3.4 3.6 -0.2
    Grains 19.7 21.5 -1.8
    Soybean Meal 4.0 3.2 0.8
    Kansas Wheat 1.6 1.7 -0.1
    Soybean Oil 3.0 3.3 -0.3
    Corn 5.0 5.3 -0.3
    Soybeans 5.1 5.5 -0.4
    Wheat 1.1 2.5 -1.4
    Precious Metals 16.8 20.0 -3.2
    Silver 4.2 4.7 -0.5
    Gold 12.6 15.3 -2.7
    Industrial Metals 10.8 14.5 -3.7
    Lead 0.8 - 0.8
    Zinc 2.2 2.3 -0.1
    Nickel 1.6 2.6 -1.0
    Copper (COMEX) 3.8 5.5 -1.7
    Aluminum 2.3 4.1 -1.8

    Important Risk Considerations

    The fund may not achieve its objective and/or you could lose money on your investment in the fund.

    Bond: Investments in debt instruments may decline in value as the result of, or perception of, declines in the credit quality of the issuer, borrower, counterparty, or other entity responsible for payment, underlying collateral, or changes in economic, political, issuer-specific, or other conditions. Certain types of debt instruments can be more sensitive to these factors and therefore more volatile. In addition, debt instruments entail interest rate risk (as interest rates rise, prices usually fall). Therefore, the portfolio's value may decline during rising rates. Portfolios that consist of debt instruments with longer durations are generally more sensitive to a rise in interest rates than those with shorter durations. At times, and particularly during periods of market turmoil, all or a large portion of segments of the market may not have an active trading market. As a result, it may be difficult to value these investments and it may not be possible to sell a particular investment or type of investment at any particular time or at an acceptable price. The price of an instrument trading at a negative interest rate responds to interest rate changes like other debt instruments; however, an instrument purchased at a negative interest rate is expected to produce a negative return if held to maturity.

    Emerging Markets: Emerging markets can have less market structure, depth, and regulatory, custodial or operational oversight and greater political, social, geopolitical and economic instability than developed markets.

    International: Investments in foreign markets can involve greater risk and volatility than U.S. investments because of adverse market, currency, economic, industry, political, regulatory, geopolitical, or other conditions.

    Derivatives: Investments in derivatives can be used to take both long and short positions, be highly volatile, involve leverage (which can magnify losses), and involve risks in addition to the risks of the underlying indicator(s) on which the derivative is based, such as counterparty and liquidity risk.

    Commodity: Commodity-related investments can be more volatile than investments in equity securities or debt instruments and can be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, currency fluctuations, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, and demand/supply imbalances in the market for the commodity. Events that affect the financial services sector may have a significant adverse effect on the portfolio.

    Subsidiary: The Fund may also invest up to 25% of the fund's assets in MFS Commodity Strategy Portfolio, a wholly-owned and controlled subsidiary organized in the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). The Subsidiary is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the Act) and is not subject to all of the investor protections of the Act. Changes in the laws impacting the fund or the Subsidiary could negatively affect the fund and its shareholders. By investing in the Subsidiary, the fund is exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary's investments, including the risks associated with the additional use of leverage and derivatives.

    Allocation: MFS' assessment of the risk/return potential of commodity sectors and the resulting allocation among commodity sectors may not produce the intended results and/or can lead to an investment focus that results in the portfolio underperforming other portfolios with similar investment strategies and/or underperforming the markets in which the portfolio invests.

    Please see the prospectus for further information on these and other risk considerations.

  • Performance

    Performance

    Average Annual Total Returns

    Average Annual Total Returns (%)

    These results represent the percent change in net asset value.
    Monthly | Quarterly As of 03/31/24 (*YTD Updated Daily, As of 04/17/24 , subject to revision and not annualized.)
      Performance data shown represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value fluctuate so your shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than the original cost; current performance may be lower or higher than quoted.
      MORNINGSTAR RATING
      Morningstar Overall Rating As of 03/31/24 Class A Shares

      Morningstar Commodities Broad Basket

      Morningstar ratings are based on risk adjusted performance.

      OVERALL
      Out Of Funds
      NA
      OVERALL MORNINGSTAR RATING
      Morningstar Overall Rating As of 03/31/24 Class A Shares

      Morningstar Commodities Broad Basket

      Morningstar ratings are based on risk adjusted performance.

      NA
      THREE YEAR
      Out Of Funds
      NA
      FIVE YEAR
      Out Of Funds
      NA
      TEN YEAR
      Out Of Funds
      NA

      Important Performance Information

      Performance results reflect any applicable expense subsidies and waivers in effect during the periods shown. Without such subsidies and waivers the fund's performance results would be less favorable. All results are historical and assume the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains.

      Sales Charges

      Class A shares ("A") results include the maximum sales charge.

      Annual Rate of Return

      Annual Rate of Return (%)

      As of 12/31/23 | Benchmark: Bloomberg Commodity Index
      annual rate of return table
      2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
      At NAV -16.90 -23.57 11.40 3.38 -12.97 7.59 -0.56 27.94 12.85 -6.48
      With Sales Charge -21.68 -27.96 4.99 -2.57 -17.98 1.40 -6.28 20.58 6.36 -11.86
      Bloomberg Commodity Index -17.01 -24.66 11.77 1.70 -11.25 7.69 -3.12 27.11 16.09 -7.91
      At NAV With Sales Charge Bloomberg Commodity Index
      2023 -6.48 -11.86 -7.91
      2022 12.85 6.36 16.09
      2021 27.94 20.58 27.11
      2020 -0.56 -6.28 -3.12
      2019 7.59 1.4 7.69
      2018 -12.97 -17.98 -11.25
      2017 3.38 -2.57 1.7
      2016 11.4 4.99 11.77
      2015 -23.57 -27.96 -24.66
      2014 -16.9 -21.68 -17.01
      Pricing & Distributions

      Pricing History

      • Market Price (MP): 
      Maximum data displayed is for the most recent 10 years
      Historical MP Lookup
      Enter date for which you wish to obtain a Historical MP for this fund

      Historical MP may not be available for all dates.

      Distributions
      The Record Date is the date on which a fund declares a distribution. To receive the distribution, an investor must be a shareholder of record on that date.

      The Payable Date is the date on which the distribution is paid to shareholders.

      Dividend Rate per Share is the amount of dividend that a shareholder will receive for each share held. It can be calculated by taking the total amount of dividends paid and dividing it by the total shares outstanding.

      Dividend Reinvestment at NAV is the automatic reinvestment of shareholder dividends in more shares at net asset value.

      Ex-Dividend Date is the date on which a fund goes ex-dividend. The interval between the announcement and the payment of the next dividend. An investor must own the fund before the ex-dividend date to be eligible for the dividend payout.

      Long-term Capital Gain The gain on the sale of a capital asset where the holding period was more than 12 months and the profit was subject to the long-term capital gains tax. (Source: Barron's Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms)

      Short-term Capital Gain For tax purposes the profit realized from the sale of securities or other capital assets held for less than 12 months. Short-term gains are taxable at ordinary income rates to the extent they are not reduced by offsetting capital losses. (Source: Barron's Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms)

      Updated Daily As of 04/18/24

      Record Date Ex-Date Payable Date Type of Earnings Rate per Share (US$) Reinvestment NAV (US$)
      12/18/23 12/19/23 12/20/23 Dividend 0.06536 3.49
      Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please consult your tax advisor for further information.
    • Portfolio & Holdings Information

      Portfolio & Holdings Information
      Portfolio characteristic data are based on unaudited net assets.

      The portfolio is actively managed, and current holdings may be different.

      Sector, Holding & Characterstics

      Performance Statistics

      Alpha is a measure of the portfolio's risk-adjusted performance. When compared to the portfolio's beta, a positive alpha indicates better-than-expected portfolio performance and a negative indicates alpha worse-than-expected portfolio performance.

      Beta is a measure of the volatility of a portfolio relative to the overall market. A beta less than 1.0 indicates lower risk than the market; a beta greater than 1.0 indicates higher risk than the market. It is most reliable as a risk measure when the return fluctuations of the portfolio are highly correlated with the return fluctuations of the index chosen to represent the market.

      Information ratio is a measure of consistency in excess return. It is calculated by taking the annualized excess return over a benchmark and dividing it by the annualized standard deviation of excess return.

      R squared represents the percentage of the portfolio's movements that can be explained by the general movements of the market.  Index portfolios will tend to have values very close to 100.  R squared is not a measure of performance.

      The Sharpe Ratio is a risk-adjusted measure calculated to determine reward per unit of risk. It uses a standard deviation and excess return. The higher the Sharpe Ratio, the better the portfolio's historical risk-adjusted performance.

      Standard Deviation is an indicator of the portfolio's total return volatility, which is based on a minimum of 36 monthly returns. The larger the portfolio's standard deviation, the greater the portfolio's volatility.

      Tracking error is the standard deviation of a portfolio's excess returns. Excess returns are a portfolio's return minus the benchmark's annualized return.

      Treynor Ratio: Treynor Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of performance. It is the ratio of the annualized excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate for a given period divided by the Beta of the portfolio versus its benchmark for the same period. It measures the amount of excess return over the risk free rate earned per unit of systematic risk (beta) assumed.

      Upside and downside capture is a measure of how well a manager was able to replicate or improve on phases of positive benchmark returns, and how badly the manager was affected by phases of negative benchmark returns. Upside capture ratio for a portfolio is calculated by taking the portfolio's return during periods when the benchmark had a positive return and dividing it by the benchmark return during that same period. Downside capture ratio is calculated by taking the portfolio's return during the periods of negative benchmark performance and dividing it by the benchmark return for that period.

      Updated Monthly As of 03/31/24
      Benchmark
      Bloomberg Commodity Index
      Performance Statistics Table
      10 Yr. 5 Yr. 3 Yr.
      Alpha 0.40 -0.09 -0.42
      Beta 1.03 1.08 1.07
      R-squared 97.32 97.81 98.12
      Standard Deviation % 14.77 17.25 16.99
      Sharpe Ratio -0.18 0.27 0.38
      Tracking Error 2.45 2.82 2.58
      Information Ratio 0.12 0.09 0.03
      Treynor Ratio -2.55 4.30 6.09
      Downside Capture % 100.96 105.25 107.13
      Upside Capture % 102.73 105.03 105.12

      Top 10 Holdings

      As of 03/31/24
      • MLCILPRT TR Swap OCT 18 24
      • MLCILPRT TR Swap DEC 20 24
      • BBG Commodity F3 TR Swap JUL 08 24
      • US Treasury Note 4.625% NOV 15 26
      • US Treasury Note 4.5% JUL 15 26
      • BBG Commodity TR Swap JAN 21 25
      • BBG Commodity TR Swap JAN 21 25
      • BBG Commodity TR Swap JAN 21 25
      • BBG Commodity TR Swap APR 17 25
      • USD IRS 3Yr Receiver 4.967 OCT 02 26
      The portfolio is actively managed, and current holdings may be different.
      Exposures

      Commodity Exposures (%)

      As of 03/31/24
      Commodity Exposures (%)
      Portfolio Bloomberg Commodity Index Underweight/ Overweight
      Softs 10.4 7.7 2.7
      Cotton 3.5 1.8 1.7
      Sugar 4.2 2.9 1.3
      Coffee 2.8 3.0 -0.2
      Energy 30.4 29.4 1.0
      WTI Crude Oil 8.8 8.1 0.7
      Natural Gas 5.9 5.3 0.6
      Unleaded Gasoline 3.4 2.8 0.6
      Gas/Oil 2.8 2.9 -0.1
      Heating Oil 2.0 2.2 -0.2
      Brent Crude 7.6 8.2 -0.6
      Livestock 5.8 6.1 -0.3
      Lean Hogs 2.4 2.5 -0.1
      Live Cattle 3.4 3.6 -0.2
      Grains 19.7 21.5 -1.8
      Soybean Meal 4.0 3.2 0.8
      Kansas Wheat 1.6 1.7 -0.1
      Soybean Oil 3.0 3.3 -0.3
      Corn 5.0 5.3 -0.3
      Soybeans 5.1 5.5 -0.4
      Wheat 1.1 2.5 -1.4
      Precious Metals 16.8 20.0 -3.2
      Silver 4.2 4.7 -0.5
      Gold 12.6 15.3 -2.7
      Industrial Metals 10.8 14.5 -3.7
      Lead 0.8 - 0.8
      Zinc 2.2 2.3 -0.1
      Nickel 1.6 2.6 -1.0
      Copper (COMEX) 3.8 5.5 -1.7
      Aluminum 2.3 4.1 -1.8

      Underweight/ Overweight

      Portfolio Structure (%)

      As of 03/31/24
      • Commodities
        99.55
      • U.S. Treasuries
        42.35
      • Investment Grade Corporates
        31.36
      • Collateralized Debt Obligations
        7.01
      • Commercial Mtg Backed
        3.69
      • Asset Backed
        3.43
      • Emerging Markets Debt
        0.86
      • Mortgage Backed
        0.49
      • Municipals
        0.44
      • Residential Mtg Backed
        0.44
      • High Yield Corporates
        0.34
      • Non-U.S. Sovereigns
        0.25
      • Cash & Cash Equivalents
        21.09
      • Other1
        -111.31
      Important Characteristics Information
      The portfolio is actively managed, and current holdings may be different.

      Portfolio characteristics are based on equivalent exposure, which measures how a portfolio's value would change due to price changes in an asset held either directly or, in the case of a derivative contract, indirectly. The market value of the holding may differ.

      *Short positions, unlike long positions, lose value if the underlying asset gains value.

      1Other. Other consists of: (i) currency derivatives and/or (ii) any derivative offsets.
    • Fees

      Fees

      • 1.14 % Net Expense Ratio

        Net Expense Ratio: The Net Expense Ratio reflects the reduction of expenses from contractual fee waivers and reimbursements. Elimination of these reductions will result in higher expenses and lower performance.


        These reductions will continue until at least 02/28/25

      • 1.15 % Gross Expense Ratio

        Gross Expense Ratio: The Gross Expense Ratio is the fund's total operating expense ratio from the fund's most recent prospectus.

      • 5.75 % Maximum Sales Charge
        Class A shares ("A") results include the maximum sales charge.
    • Resources

      Resources

      Product Resources

      Full Holdings available approximately 19 or 24 days after month end.

      Shareholder Reports

      Shareholder Reports

      Click here to access the following:
      • Semiannual Report
      • Annual Report
      • First Quarter Holdings
      • Third Quarter Holdings
      Product Literature

      Product Literature

      Back to bonds: Why it may be time to make the move.

      Fixed Income public brochure that illustrates why the bond window of opportunity is now open for long-term investors.

      Market Declines: A History of Recoveries

      Flyer showing market declines over time and how recoveries have played out over the long-term.

      The Power of Active Management brochure

      Collective expertise, long-term discipline and risk management

      Barron's Box Flyer

      Flyer showing MFS' annual rankings from Barron's since 2008

      2024 Dividend and Capital Gains Schedule

      Announcements

      Announcements

      This website is a general communication and is provided for informational and/or educational purposes only. None of the content should be viewed as a suggestion that you take or refrain from taking any action nor as a recommendation for any specific investment product, strategy, plan feature or other such purpose. Your use of this website indicates that you agree with the intended purpose. Prior to making any investment or financial decision, you should seek individualized advice from a personal financial, tax, and other professionals who are able to provide advice in the context of your particular financial situation.

      The information provided on this page should be read in conjunction with the fund's prospectus or summary prospectus for the portfolio being offered, which are available online here or by contacting MFS. Consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses, and otherwise read these documents carefully before you invest. Shares of the funds are not FDIC-insured and are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, any bank. Shares of the funds involve investment risk, including possible loss of principal. 

      MFS registered investment products are offered through MFS® Fund Distributors, Inc., 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02199.
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