MutualFundWire.com: Near Beantown, a Boutique Celebrates a Crystal Small Cap Value Anniversary

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Monday, January 5, 2026

Near Beantown, a Boutique Celebrates a Crystal Small Cap Value Anniversary

The folks at a seven-year-old fund firm near Boston are celebrating a crystal anniversary for one of their offerings.

Last month, Joshua Schachter, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Easterly Investment Partners LLC, and Darrell Crate, founder and managing principal of Easterly Asset Management, highlighted the recent 15th birthday of the Easterly Snow Small Cap Value Fund. Beverly, Massachusetts-based Easterly IP serves investment advisor to the mutual fund.

A predecessor fund, the Snow Capital Small Cap Value Fund, first debuted on November 30, 2010. The fund reorganized as the Easterly Snow Small Cap Value Fund on November 5, 2021, after Easterly IP invested in Sewickley, Pennsylvania-based Snow Capital Management L.P..

As of Friday (January 2, 2026), the Easterly Snow Small Cap Value Fund had grown to about $36.5 million in AUM. The fund comes in four flavors:

A shares (SNWAX), with a maximum up-front load of 575 basis points and an expense ratio of 120bps (which bakes in a 76bps fee waiver);

C shares (SNWCX), with a maximum deferred load of 100bps and an expense ratio of 195bps (baking in a 76bps fee waiver);

I shares (SNOIX), with no load and an expense ratio of 95bps (which bakes in a 76bps fee waiver); and

R6 shares (SNORX), with no load and an expense ratio of 85bps (baking in an 86bps fee waiver).

The fee waivers are promised through December 31, 2026.

Schachter PMed the predecessor fund since inception and PMs the current fund. Philip Greenblatt, a PM and senior analyst, joined the predecessor fund's PM team in 2020 and continues to PM the current fund.

"Since inception, we've utilized our disciplined, research-intensive process to identify and allocate capital to companies whose valuations and expectations may not reflect how we view their long-term potential and asymmetrical risk/reward profiles," Schacter states. "We've applied this across many different market conditions and remain committed to this methodology as we continue to serve clients today."

"The Fund's strong long-term, risk-adjusted performance is driven by an investment philosophy rooted in high-conviction insights that can help investors navigate a complex market and make portfolios better," Crate states.

The Easterly Snow Small Cap Value Fund is an actively managed series of the James Alpha Funds Trust (dba Easterly Funds Trust). (The predecessor fund was a series of the Trust for Professional Managers.) The fund's other service providers include:

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH) as custodian and securities lending agent;

Easterly Securities LLC as distributor;

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP as counsel;

Tait, Weller & Baker LLP as independent accounting firm; and

Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC as administrator, fund accountant, shareholder servicing agent, and transfer agent.