Vertical Capital Fund Fares Well in First Year

Vertical Capital income Fund (VCAPX), a fund that invests in mortgages and deeds of trust, outperformed its benchmark in its first fiscal year, according to a release from Irvine, California-based ""Vertical Capital Markets Group."":http://verticalus.com/

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Vertical Capital Markets Group has been underwriting and servicing mortgages since 2004 and created VCAPX at the end of 2011.

In the fund's first fiscal year, which ended December 2012, it reaped a 12.95 percent return, well above [COLUMN_BREAK]

Barclays' mortgage-backed securities index, which brought in a 2.59 percent return.

Bayard Closser, president of Vertical Capital attributes some of the fund's success to the ""Goldilocks effect.""

""The housing market is recovering, but at a pace where lenders are still willing to sell whole mortgage notes at a steep discount,"" Closser said.

The result is a ""'just right' environment that we believe will continue for at least three more years,"" he added.

When the fund's maximum 4.5 percent sales charge is added to the equation, the fund incurred a return of 7.91 percent for the year.

VCAPX also earned a dividend of 4.01 percent in its first year.

Closser suggests VCAPX might be ideal for older investors who ""should look for some participation in income-generating investments that are tied to a real asset--like real estate or precious metals.""

""However,"" he adds, ""there is no assurance that any investment strategy will achieve its objectives, generate profits or avoid losses.""