What does 'since inception' performance represent?

• A. The fund's performance from its start date to the present.
• B. The fund's performance in the calendar year.
• C. The fund's performance after tax.
• D. The fund's performance in the last quarter.

Answer: (A)

Since inception measures how the fund has performed from the moment it began operating up to today. It captures the entire track record, showing the cumulative returns over all periods since the launch date (often including reinvested distributions, when stated, and sometimes presented as an annualized figure for comparison). This makes it a long-term performance snapshot that lets you compare funds with different lifetimes, rather than focusing on a single year, quarter, or after-tax result. It’s not tied to a calendar year or a specific short interval, and it isn’t limited to after-tax performance.