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The Touchstone Dividend Equity Fund recorded an underperformance compared to its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, during the final quarter of 2025. This shortfall was primarily driven by specific stock choices within the Information Technology and Communication Services sectors. While strategic allocation across various sectors provided some offsetting benefits, particularly in Financials, Health Care, and Industrials, the overall outcome was a modest decline. The fund's positioning with an overweight in Cash and an underweight in Materials further contributed to these results.

During the quarter ending December 31, 2025, the Touchstone Dividend Equity Fund, specifically its Class A Shares with load waived, found itself lagging behind the Russell 1000 Value Index. This divergence in performance was largely attributed to the individual security selections made within the Information Technology and Communication Services sectors. These choices exerted a negative influence on the fund's returns, indicating that the chosen stocks in these areas did not perform as well as expected or as favorably as their benchmark counterparts.

Conversely, some sector allocation decisions did yield positive results. The fund's strategic positioning in the Financials, Health Care, and Industrials sectors offered modest contributions, helping to mitigate some of the losses incurred elsewhere. These sectors demonstrated better performance, suggesting that the fund's overall weighting towards them was beneficial. However, these positive effects were not enough to fully counteract the challenges faced. Furthermore, the fund's strategic decision to maintain an overweight position in Cash and an underweight in Materials also played a role in its quarterly performance, impacting its overall relative returns.

In summary, the Touchstone Dividend Equity Fund's performance in Q4 2025 was marked by underperformance relative to its benchmark. This was largely a result of less-than-optimal stock selection in the technology and communication sectors. While some sector allocations showed promise, they were insufficient to offset the negative impacts, highlighting the complexities of managing a dividend equity fund in a dynamic market environment.