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)Annual
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 (11/30/2021)

as of quarter-end (09/30/2021)

YTD1 year3 year5 year10 yearLifetimeInception date
NAV (view definition)-2.00% -1.44% 5.41% 3.71% 2.87% 4.31% 08/01/2003
Max offer price-6.39% -5.86% 3.79% 2.76% 2.40% 4.05%
1 year3 year5 year10 yearLifetimeInception date
NAV (view definition)-0.10% 0.11% 5.40% 3.27% 2.97% 4.38% 08/01/2003
Max offer price-4.64% -4.43% 3.79% 2.33% 2.49% 4.11%
Bloomberg US Aggregate Index0.05%-0.90%5.36%2.94%3.01%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
Gross1.06%
Net1.06%
Performance characteristics - as of 11/30/2021
Annualized standard deviation, 3 years (view definition)4.01
SEC 30-day yield with waiver (view definition)n/a
SEC 30-day yield without waiver (view definition)n/a
Calendar year total returns @ NAV
YearAnnual return
20208.90%
20198.46%
2018-0.97%
20174.23%
20162.69%
2015-0.81%
20144.25%
2013-3.06%
20126.68%
20116.74%

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

Investment managers

J. David Hillmeyer

David Hillmeyer, CFA

Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of US Multisector Fixed Income

Start date on the Fund: April 2011

Years of industry experience: 28

(View bio)

David Hillmeyer biography

J. David Hillmeyer

David Hillmeyer, CFA

Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of US Multisector Fixed Income

J. David Hillmeyer co-leads the firm’s US Multisector Fixed Income team for Macquarie Investment Management Fixed Income (MFI) with responsibility for investment strategy and business development across the full suite of US multisector strategies. In addition, Hillmeyer has responsibility for our global credit strategies. Hillmeyer is also a member of MFI’s Global Leadership Group which is responsible for the overall management of MFI including setting and executing on the team’s strategic vision. 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

Managing Director, Co-Head of US Multisector Fixed Income

Start date on the Fund: March 2019

Years of industry experience: 21

(View bio)

Daniela Mardarovici biography

Daniela Mardarovici

Daniela Mardarovici, CFA

Managing Director, Co-Head of US Multisector Fixed Income

Daniela Mardarovici co-leads the firm’s US Multisector Fixed Income efforts for Macquarie Investment Management Fixed Income (MFI) with responsibility for investment and business strategy for the full suite of US multisector solutions. Mardarovici is also a member of MFI’s Global Leadership Group which is responsible for the overall management of MFI including setting and executing the team’s strategic vision. Prior to joining Macquarie Investment Management (MIM) in March 2019, she spent more than 13 years at BMO Global Asset Management as a senior investment leader. 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. In addition, Mardarovici was 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 managed taxable fixed income strategies and 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.

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 fees0.50%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees0.25%
Other expenses0.31%
Total annual fund operating expenses1.06%
Fee waivers and expense reimbursementsnone
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers and expense reimbursements1.06%

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 0.83% of the Fund’s average daily net assets from July 29, 2021 through July 29, 2022. 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.

DateDelaware Management CompanyPacific Investment Management CompanyTotal
11/30/202051.66%48.34%100%
12/31/202051.75%48.25%100%
01/31/202151.75%48.25%100%
02/28/202151.82%48.18%100%
03/31/202151.73%48.27%100%
04/30/202151.73%48.27%100%
05/31/202151.74%48.26%100%
06/30/202151.73%48.27%100%
07/31/202151.68%48.32%100%
08/31/202151.68%48.32%100%
09/30/202151.70%48.30%100%
10/31/202151.76%48.24%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.

IBOR risk is the risk that changes related to the use of the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) or similar rates (such as EONIA) could have adverse impacts on financial instruments that reference these rates. The abandonment of these rates and transition to alternative rates could affect the value and liquidity of instruments that reference them and could affect investment strategy performance.

The disruptions caused by natural disasters, pandemics, or similar events could prevent the Fund from executing advantageous investment decisions in a timely manner and could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective and the value of the Fund’s investments.

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 12/03/2021)

Class APriceNet change
NAV$9.860.04
Max offer price$10.32n/a

Total net assets (as of 10/31/2021)

$3.0 billion all share classes

Lipper ranking (as of 10/31/2021)

YTD ranking276 / 314
1 year255 / 313
3 years230 / 289
5 years178 / 238
10 years142 / 162
Lipper classificationCore Plus Bond Funds

(View Lipper disclosure)

The Lipper ranking is based on historical total returns.

Holdings

Benchmark and peer group

Bloomberg 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.