Macquarie Delaware Funds by Macquarie

Optimum Fixed Income Fund

Key features

  • The objective of Optimum Fixed Income Fund is to seek a high level of income, and it may also seek growth of capital.
  • PIMCO selects securities by developing an outlook for interest rates, currency exchange rates and the economy; analyzing credit and call risks, and utilizing other security selection techniques.
  • Delaware’s investment process emphasizes bottom-up, fundamental research coupled with top-down macroeconomic analysis.
Fund information
Inception date08/01/2003
Dividends paid (if any)Annually
Capital gains paid (if any)December
Fund identifiers
NASDAQOAFIX
CUSIP246118681
Investment minimums
Initial investment$1,000
Subsequent investments$100
Account features
Payroll deductionNo
IRAsYes

On Nov. 4, 2014, Class B shares of the Fund converted to Class A shares.

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.

Total returns may reflect waivers and/or expense reimbursements by the manager and/or distributor for some or all of the periods shown. Performance would have been lower without such waivers and reimbursements.

Average annual total return

as of month-end (09/30/2019)

as of quarter-end (09/30/2019)

YTD1 year3 year5 year10 yearLifetimeInception date
NAV (view definition)8.19%8.99%3.02%2.76%4.00%4.47%08/01/2003
Max offer price3.34%4.06%1.47%1.83%3.52%4.17%
Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Index8.52%10.30%2.92%3.38%3.75%n/a
1 year3 year5 year10 yearLifetimeInception date
NAV (view definition)1.64%8.99%3.02%2.76%4.00%4.47%08/01/2003
Max offer price-2.94%4.06%1.47%1.83%3.52%4.17%
Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Index2.27%10.30%2.92%3.38%3.75%n/a

Returns for less than one year are not annualized.

Class A shares have a maximum up-front sales charge of 4.50% and are subject to an annual distribution fee.

Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs, or expenses. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index.

Expense ratio
Gross1.08%
Net1.08%
Performance characteristics - as of //
Quarterly total returns @ NAV
Year1st quarter2nd quarter3rd quarter4th quarterAnnual return
20193.28%3.07%1.64%n/an/a
2018-1.06%-0.54%-0.11%0.74%-0.97%
20171.30%1.60%1.05%0.23%4.23%
20161.96%1.81%1.05%-2.10%2.69%
20151.78%-1.65%-0.42%-0.49%-0.81%
20141.81%1.95%-0.31%0.74%4.25%
20130.10%-3.53%0.21%0.17%-3.06%
20121.25%2.59%2.13%0.56%6.68%
20111.27%1.96%1.66%1.68%6.74%
20103.45%2.85%3.62%-0.85%9.32%
20091.31%9.23%9.75%3.40%25.58%

On Nov. 4, 2014, Class B shares of the Fund converted to Class A shares.

Investment managers

J. David Hillmeyer

David Hillmeyer, CFA

Executive Director, Head of Multisector/Global Fixed Income

Start date on the Fund: April 2011

Years of industry experience: 26

(View bio)

David Hillmeyer biography

J. David Hillmeyer

David Hillmeyer,CFA

Executive Director, Head of Multisector/Global Fixed Income

David Hillmeyer is head of multisector/global fixed income in the Americas. He is co-portfolio manager for the fixed rate diversified multisector, core plus, and investment grade corporate bond strategies. Prior to joining Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) in August 2007 as a vice president and corporate bond trader, he worked for more than 11 years in various roles at Hartford Investment Management Company, including senior corporate bond trader, high yield portfolio manager / trader, and quantitative analyst. He began his career as an investment advisor in January 1989 at Shawmut Bank, leaving the firm as an investment officer in November 1995. Hillmeyer earned his bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University, and he is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Council for Business Economics.

Daniela Mardarovici

Daniela Mardarovici, CFA

Division Director, Co-Head of Multisector/Core Plus Fixed Income

Start date on the Fund: March 2019

Years of industry experience: 19

(View bio)

Daniela Mardarovici biography

Daniela Mardarovici

Daniela Mardarovici,CFA

Division Director, Co-Head of Multisector/Core Plus Fixed Income

Daniela Mardarovici joined Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) in March 2019 as co-head of the firm’s multisector and core plus strategies. Prior to joining the firm, she spent more than 13 years at BMO Global Asset Management as a senior portfolio manager. Since 2014, she was a member of the management committee of Taplin, Canida & Habacht (TCH), BMO’s US fixed income group, and helped lead business strategy and development efforts. Mardarovici was also responsible for driving investment strategy and managing institutional portfolios and mutual funds across a wide spectrum of strategies, including core, core plus, credit, multisector, and liability-driven investing (LDI). Previously, she led investment management efforts for mortgage-backed securities at Harris Investment Management. She started her career in 2000 as a proprietary trader at Gelber Group. In 2018, Mardarovici was named one of the top 20 female portfolio managers by CityWire. She graduated magna cum laude with a major in economics and finance/banking from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is a member of the CFA Society New York and the CFA Institute.

Roger Early

Roger A. Early, CPA, CFA

Chief Investment Officer of US Fixed Income

Start date on the Fund: May 2007

Years of industry experience: 43

(View bio)

Roger A. Early biography

Roger Early

Roger A. Early,CPA, CFA

Chief Investment Officer of US Fixed Income

Roger A. Early is chief investment officer of the US fixed income business. He rejoined Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) in March 2007 as a member of the firm’s taxable fixed income portfolio management team, with primary responsibility for portfolio construction and strategic asset allocation. He became head of fixed income investments in the Americas in February 2015. During his previous time at the firm, from 1994 to 2001, he was a senior portfolio manager in the same area, and he left the firm as head of its US investment grade fixed income group. In recent years, Early was a senior portfolio manager at Chartwell Investment Partners and Rittenhouse Financial and was the chief investment officer for fixed income at Turner Investments. Prior to joining the firm in 1994, he worked for more than 10 years at Federated Investors where he managed more than $25 billion in mutual fund and institutional portfolios in the short-term and investment grade markets. He left the firm as head of institutional fixed income management. Earlier in his career, he held management positions with the Federal Reserve Bank, PNC Financial, Touche Ross, and Rockwell International. Early earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA with concentrations in finance and accounting from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.

Adam Brown

Adam H. Brown, CFA

Senior Vice President, Co-Head of High Yield, Senior Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: January 2016

Years of industry experience: 21

(View bio)

Adam H. Brown biography

Adam Brown

Adam H. Brown,CFA

Senior Vice President, Co-Head of High Yield, Senior Portfolio Manager

Adam H. Brown is a senior portfolio manager and co-head of the firm’s high yield strategies. He manages the bank loan portfolios and is a co-portfolio manager for the high yield, fixed rate multisector, and core plus strategies. Brown joined Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) in April 2011 as part of the firm’s integration of Macquarie Four Corners Capital Management, where he had worked since 2002. At Four Corners, he was a co-portfolio manager on the firm’s collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and a senior research analyst supporting noninvestment grade portfolios. Before that, Brown was with the predecessor of Wells Fargo Securities, where he worked in the leveraged finance group arranging senior secured bank loans and high yield bond financings for financial sponsors and corporate issuers. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Florida and an MBA from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.

John McCarthy

John P. McCarthy, CFA

Senior Vice President, Co-Head of High Yield, Senior Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: July 2016

Years of industry experience: 32

(View bio)

John P. McCarthy biography

John McCarthy

John P. McCarthy,CFA

Senior Vice President, Co-Head of High Yield, Senior Portfolio Manager

John P. McCarthy is a senior portfolio manager and co-head for the firm’s high yield strategies, a role he assumed in July 2016. From December 2012 to June 2016, he was co-head of credit research on the firm’s taxable fixed income team. McCarthy rejoined Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) in March 2007 as a senior research analyst, after he worked in the firm’s fixed income area from 1990 to 2000 as a senior high yield analyst and high yield trader, and from 2001 to 2002 as a municipal bond trader. Prior to rejoining the firm, he was a senior high yield analyst/trader at Chartwell Investment Partners. McCarthy earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Babson College, and he is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.

Brian McDonnell

Brian C. McDonnell, CFA

Executive Director, Head of US Fixed Income

Start date on the Fund: February 2015

Years of industry experience: 30

(View bio)

Brian C. McDonnell biography

Brian McDonnell

Brian C. McDonnell,CFA

Executive Director, Head of US Fixed Income

Brian C. McDonnell is a member of the firm’s taxable fixed income portfolio management team with primary responsibility for portfolio construction and strategic asset allocation. He joined Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) in March 2007 as a vice president and senior structured products analyst/trader, assuming portfolio management responsibilities in 2009. Prior to joining the firm, he was a managing director and head of fixed income trading at Sovereign Securities, where he was responsible for risk management and hedging of the firm’s holdings. Earlier in his career, he spent more than 10 years in various fixed income capacities with Prudential Securities in New York. McDonnell has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Boston College, and he is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.

On Nov. 4, 2014, Class B shares of the Fund converted to Class A shares.

Sub-advisor

Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO)

Marc P. Seidner

CIO Non-traditional Strategies, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager

Start date on the Fund: January 2015

Mr. Seidner is CIO Non-traditional Strategies, a managing director and head of portfolio management in the New York office. He is also a generalist portfolio manager and a member of the Investment Committee. He rejoined PIMCO in November 2014 after serving as head of fixed income at GMO LLC, and previously he was a PIMCO managing director, generalist portfolio manager and member of the Investment Committee until January 2014. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2009, he was a managing director and domestic fixed income portfolio manager at Harvard Management Company. Previously, he was director of active core strategies at Standish Mellon Asset Management and a senior portfolio manager at Fidelity Management and Research. He has 31 years of investment experience and holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Boston College. He has held his Fund responsibilities since January 2015.

In addition, PIMCO has an Investment Committee, which oversees the setting of investment policy decisions, including duration positioning, yield curve management, sector rotation, credit quality and overall portfolio composition, for all PIMCO portfolios and strategies, including PIMCO's share of the Fund's assets.

The SAI provides additional information about each portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by each portfolio manager, and each portfolio manager’s ownership of Fund shares.

You may qualify for sales-charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Optimum Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary, in the Fund's Prospectus under the section entitled "About your account," and in the Fund's statement of additional information (SAI) under the section entitled "Purchasing Shares."

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder fees
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases as a percentage of offering price4.50%
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption price, whichever is lowernone
Annual fund operating expenses
Management fees0.52%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees0.25%
Other expenses0.31%
Total annual fund operating expenses1.08%
Fee waivers and expense reimbursementsnone
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers and expense reimbursements1.08%

On Nov. 4, 2014, Class B shares of the Fund converted to Class A shares.

1The Fund’s investment manager, Delaware Management Company (Manager), has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its investment advisory fees and/or pay reimburse expenses (excluding any 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, short sale dividend and interest expenses, brokerage fees, certain insurance costs, and nonroutine expenses or costs, including, but not limited to, those relating to reorganizations, litigation, conducting shareholder meetings, and liquidations) in order to prevent total annual fund operating expenses from exceeding 0.85% of the Fund’s average daily net assets from July 29, 2019 through July 29, 2020. These waivers and reimbursements may only be terminated by agreement of the Manager and the Fund.

The chart below lists the percentage of the Fund's total assets under management that each sub-advisor manages on behalf of the Fund. The percentages include securities, cash, and any other assets managed by each sub-advisor in its sleeve of the Fund. These percentage allocations should be updated some time after 30 days following a given month end.

Date Delaware
Management Company 		PIMCO Total
Strategy Multisector Floating-rate
multisector 		Total return Low duration
09/30/2018 44.93%  6.07%  44.23%  4.76%  100% 
10/31/2018 44.85%  6.10%  44.25%  4.80%  100% 
11/30/2018 44.83%  6.04%  44.35%  4.78%  100% 
12/31/2018 44.73% 5.90% 44.64% 4.73% 100%
1/31/2019 44.99% 5.87% 44.46% 4.68% 100%
2/28/2019 45.04% 5.89% 44.37% 4.70% 100%
3/29/2019 45.08% 5.82% 44.47% 4.63% 100%
4/30/2019 50.96% 0.00% 49.04% 0.00% 100%
5/31/2019 50.90% 0.00% 49.10% 0.00% 100%
6/28/2019 51.01% 0.00% 48.99% 0.00% 100%
7/31/2019 51.09% 0.00% 48.91% 0.00% 100%
8/31/2019 51.16% 0.00% 48.84% 0.00% 100%

Total may not equal 100% due to rounding.

On Nov. 4, 2014, Class B shares of the Fund converted to Class A shares.

Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund’s prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting optimummutualfunds.com/literature or calling 800 914-0278. Investors should read the prospectus and, if available, the summary prospectus carefully before investing.

The Fund's investment manager, Delaware Management Company (Manager), may seek investment advice and recommendations from its affiliates: Macquarie Investment Management Europe Limited, Macquarie Investment Management Austria Kapitalanlage AG, and Macquarie Investment Management Global Limited (together, the “Affiliated Sub-Advisors”). The Manager may also permit these Affiliated Sub-Advisors to execute Fund security trades on behalf of the Manager and exercise investment discretion for securities in certain markets where DMC believes it will be beneficial to utilize an Affiliated Sub-Advisor’s specialized market knowledge.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

Mortgage-backed securities may experience increased prepayments on the underlying mortgages if rates decline, which may require the Fund to reinvest in lower yielding securities.

Fixed income securities and bond funds can lose value, and investors can lose principal, as interest rates rise. They also may be affected by economic conditions that hinder an issuer’s ability to make interest and principal payments on its debt.

The Fund may also be subject to prepayment risk, the risk that the principal of a bond that is held by a portfolio will be prepaid prior to maturity, at the time when interest rates are lower than what the bond was paying. A portfolio may then have to reinvest that money at a lower interest rate.

High yielding, non-investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve higher risk than investment grade bonds.

Securities in the lowest of the rating categories considered to be investment grade (that is, Baa or BBB) have some speculative characteristics.

International investments entail risks not ordinarily associated with US investments including fluctuation in currency values, differences in accounting principles, or economic or political instability in other nations.

Diversification may not protect against market risk.

The Fund may invest in derivatives, which may involve additional expenses and are subject to risk, including the risk that an underlying security or securities index moves in the opposite direction from what the portfolio manager anticipated. A derivatives transaction depends upon the counterparties’ ability to fulfill their contractual obligations.

All third-party marks cited are the property of their respective owners.

Not FDIC Insured | No Bank Guarantee | May Lose Value

Fund Finder

Daily pricing (as of 10/14/2019)

Class APriceNet change
NAV$9.900.01
Max offer price$10.37n/a

Total net assets (as of 09/30/2019)

$2.5 billion all share classes

Lipper ranking (as of 09/30/2019)

YTD ranking229 / 307
1 year217 / 301
3 years162 / 245
5 years161 / 199
10 years103 / 133
Lipper classificationCore Plus Bond Funds

(View Lipper disclosure)

The Lipper ranking is based on historical total returns.

Holdings

Benchmark, peer group

Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Index (view definition)

Lipper Core Plus Bond Funds Average (view definition)

Additional information

On Nov. 4, 2014, Class B shares of the Fund converted to Class A shares.