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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • Gator Opportunities Fund reorganizing
    http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1567138/000116204416001395/gator497201601.htm
    497 1 gator497201601.htm
    January 20, 2016
    GATOR OPPORTUNITIES FUND
    Supplement to the Prospectus dated July 29, 2015, as supplemented December 21, 2015
    On December 21, 2015, the Gator Opportunities Fund (the “Fund”), a series of the Gator Series Trust (the “Trust”), notified shareholders that, pursuant to various considerations and approvals by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Trust expected that, subject to approval by the shareholders of the Fund, the Fund would be entering into a transaction with BPV Family of Funds (the “BPV Trust”) for the purpose of reorganizing the Fund into BPV Small Cap Fund (the “Transaction”). The Fund had prepared, with the assistance of the BPV Trust, a draft proxy statement regarding the Transaction, which was filed on Form N-14 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 14, 2015, in anticipation of finalizing the same for a shareholder meeting. However, the Trust was informed on January 15, 2016, that BPV Capital Management, LLC (“BPV”), the investment adviser to the BPV Trust, had determined not to go forward with the Transaction.
    In light of the foregoing, effective immediately, the Trust has terminated the public offering of the Fund’s shares and will discontinue the Fund’s operations and liquidate no later than March 21, 2016 (the “Closing Date”). Shares of the Fund are no longer available for purchase.
    The Board, in consultation with the Fund’s investment adviser, Gator Capital Management, LLC (the “Adviser”), determined by written consent dated January 20, 2016 (the “Written Consent”) to discontinue the Fund’s operations based on, among other factors, the Adviser’s belief that it would be in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders to discontinue the Fund’s operations. Through the date of the Fund’s liquidation, currently scheduled to take place on the Closing Date, the Adviser will continue to waive fees and reimburse expenses of the Fund, as necessary, in order to maintain the Fund’s fees and expenses at their current level, as specified in the Prospectus.
    In the Written Consent, the Board of Trustees directed that: (i) all of the Fund’s portfolio securities be liquidated to cash in an orderly manner on or before the Closing Date; and (ii) all outstanding shareholder accounts on the Closing Date be closed and the proceeds of each account be sent to the shareholder’s address of record or to such other address as directed by the shareholder including special instructions that may be needed for Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) and qualified pension and profit sharing fund accounts. As a result of the liquidation of the Fund’s portfolio securities described above, the Fund’s normal exposure to investments will be reduced and eventually eliminated. Accordingly, shareholders should not expect the Fund to achieve its stated investment objective.
    Shareholders may continue to freely redeem their shares on each business day during the Fund’s liquidation process. The distribution of proceeds from the closing of shareholder accounts remaining on the Closing Date will be considered for tax purposes a sale of Fund shares by shareholders, and shareholders should consult with their own tax advisors to ensure its proper treatment on their income tax returns. In addition, shareholders invested through an IRA or other tax-deferred account should consult the rules regarding the reinvestment of these assets. In order to avoid a potential tax issue, shareholders may choose to authorize a direct transfer of their retirement account assets to another tax-deferred retirement account before the Fund liquidates. Typically, shareholders have 60 days from the date of the liquidation to invest the proceeds in another IRA or qualified retirement account; otherwise the liquidation proceeds may be required to be included in the shareholder’s taxable income for the current tax year.
    If you have any questions regarding this Supplement, please call (813)-282-7870.
    Investors Should Retain this Supplement for Future Reference
  • Drop in balanced funds
    DSENX just sounds too exotic for me. But $645M AUM already. How would you rate the riskiness of such a strategy, @davidmoran?
  • Drop in balanced funds
    Since Dec 1, SPX is down ~10%, GLRBX down half that, and everyone else mentioned is in between, FPACX and OAKBX worse than PRWCX and MAPOX.
    (DSENX and PONDX 50-50, which is what I am trending toward for say 3/4 of my holdings this year and after, is best of all, down ~4%.)
  • Drop in balanced funds
    FPACX 12/31/2015 Update
    Positioning:
    Gross
    exposure to equities
    is circa 60%
    and net equity exposure is
    approximately 56%
    Corporate Bonds
    increased
    to 3.9%
    Cash is approximately 39%.
    Outlook:
    The opportunity set continues to improve marginally
    .
    We are
    researching
    various areas
    of
    the market,
    including
    oil and gas
    and
    MLPs,
    retail, and industrials
    http://www.fpafunds.com/docs/fpa-crescent-fund/q4-2015-crescent-update150F8E52283E.pdf?sfvrsn=2
  • Drop in balanced funds
    I have been very disappointed in FPACX which I bought specifically because it should have been a very defensive holding. M* shows it holding 35% cash plus %10% bonds and I don't understand how it could be down so much with such a high cash position.
  • The Berwyn Funds reorganizing to be part of Chartwell Investment Partners
    A December press release describing the acquisition of the Berwyn Funds’ investment advisor is here.
    TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSC) entered into a definitive asset-purchase agreement to acquire The Killen Group, Inc. (TKG), an investment management firm and the advisor to The Berwyn Funds.
  • Drop in balanced funds
    If you take the S&P 500 index (SPX) to be "the market," at the time of this writing, it has lost more than either FPACX or OAKBX over the periods of 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, per my reading of results on StockCharts.com. For example, over 1 month, FPACX and OAKBX are down 5.39% and 5.18%, respectively, whereas SPX is down 9.35%; over 3 months, FPACX and OAKBX are down 7.16% and 7.74%, respectively, and SPX is down 10.47%.
  • Loomis Sayles Is Bullish On Junk Debt
    FYI: Bond shop betting on an oil-price recovery.
    Regards,
    Ted
    http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20160119/FREE/160119938?template=printart
    I've been reading lots of these type articles lately. Not exactly a prescription for a bottom. Seems the only ones still bearish on junk bonds are Gundlach, Jim Rogers, and Carl Icahn. I thought at the beginning of the year it could be the year for the junk and had around 15% there. I was WRONG and sold. Also like the preferreds and WRONG there immediately. When I am WRONG as is often the case I sell. Still have around 81% in the junk munis and wondering when and if they will finally succumb to the debacle. There will be stress in many municipalities impacted by the decline in oil.
  • COP down 7%
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/husky-suspends-dividend-cuts-spending-as-oil-rout-deepens
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/oil-giants-start-losing-safety-net-as-refining-margins-squeezed
    "Global refining margins, the estimated profit from turning oil into gasoline and diesel, fell 34 percent in the fourth quarter, the steepest decline in eight years, to $13.20 a barrel, data on BP Plc’s website show. Every $1 drop cuts BP’s pretax adjusted earnings by $500 million a year, according to its website.
    The companies face a squeeze on processing profits as a mild winter curbs demand for heating oil and diesel, creating huge stockpiles in the U.S. and Europe. That’s a reverse from the past two years, a period when refining earnings doubled, and kicks away one of the remaining buffers for integrated oil giants grappling with crude prices at a 12-year low.
    “It’s a bit of a double whammy, lower oil prices and refining margins starting to weaken,” said Iain Reid, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Ltd. in London. “The safety net is still there, but there are some holes in it now.”
    This game is a long way from being over, and I don't think the oil majors are immune. It may just take a little while until they are impacted. Already, we see income-- both operating and net--- taking a hit with most of them, and if things like refining margins decline to ziltch.... well, are dvd cuts really off the table? Buy those "juicy" yields (aren't they always) and be the bag holder later. No need to rush in; patience could be richly rewarded here.
  • The Berwyn Funds reorganizing to be part of Chartwell Investment Partners
    http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/808452/000111183016001055/berwyn_497e-0116.htm
    497 1 berwyn_497e-0116.htm THE BERWYN FUNDS - 497E
    January 19, 2016
    THE BERWYN FUNDS
    BERWYN FUND
    BERWYN INCOME FUND
    BERWYN CORNERSTONE FUND
    1189 LANCASTER AVE
    BERWYN, PA 19312
    Supplement to Prospectus dated May 1, 2015
    The Prospectus, dated May 1, 2015, of the Berwyn Fund, the Berwyn Income Fund and the Berwyn Cornerstone Fund is hereby supplemented to inform you of important information impacting your investment in The Berwyn Funds. If you have any questions regarding this supplement please call 1-877-454-5536.
    The Board of Trustees (the "Board) of The Berwyn Funds has approved the reorganization of the Berwyn Fund, Berwyn Income Fund and the Berwyn Cornerstone Fund (each, an "Acquired Fund") into Berwyn Fund, Berwyn Income Fund and Berwyn Cornerstone Fund (each, an "Acquiring Fund"), respectively, each a series of Investment Managers Trust. Each Acquiring Fund will have the same investment objective, and the policies and strategies of the relevant Acquiring Fund are substantially similar to the Acquired Fund. The reorganization of each Acquired Fund is subject to shareholder approval. Shareholders of the Acquired Fund as of January 11, 2015 (the "Record Date") are eligible to vote at a Special Meeting of Shareholders. If you became a shareholder after the Record Date, you are not eligible to vote at the Special Meeting. All shareholders of record as of the Record Date will receive a combined proxy statement/prospectus describing the terms and conditions of each proposed reorganization. The Funds will mail the combined proxy statement/prospectus in February, 2016 after SEC review and comment. The Special Meeting is scheduled to take place on March 31, 2016.
    Investors Should Retain This Supplement for Future Reference
    ****New registration statement for The Berwyn Funds (with Chartwell name exhibited): http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318342/000139834416009077/fp0017554_485apos.htm
  • It's not just oil and the MLPs - small cap biotech has been clobbered too!
    That is the post I remember Hank. And you were prescient in your reply:
    A further 50% drop to the $25-$30 dollar area would signal something very wrong with the global economy. I won't, however, rule it out.
    But my response must make me a guru...
    A different strategy is to wait for the upturn trend to be established before buying.

    Problem is I bought SLB a few months after when "oil just had to start an uptrend." I'm down about 20+% on that one.
    Good luck on your recent energy fund purchases Hank. I hope it turns around for you - and me.
  • It's not just oil and the MLPs - small cap biotech has been clobbered too!
    Can't remember the poster, doesn't matter, who declared about a year or so ago that it's time to jump into energy.
    -
    @Mike: Possibly your reference is to Delphic Oracle's "Don't Outthink This" thread from December, 2014. http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/53593/#Comment_53593
    I didn't take his musings as a declaration. I think he was just questioning whether it was time to make the leap. Oil was trading around $60 then. Anyway, I've excerpted a portion of my response at the time.
    I said: "Very difficult to pull off. Markets can remain irrational longer than most of us can remain solvent. The time needed for a bounce-back can be painfully long as those of us who thought Japan looked cheap in 1997 learned the hard way. It looked even cheaper a decade later. Percentages are funny things. Oil & some producers have lost 50 percent this year. That might imply some kind of floor? Nope. They can still drop another 30, 40, or 50 percent next year if they want to. It's very hard to time incremental purchases going down. Tendancy is to buy too early, than to throw good money after bad, than to get frustrated and bail at a loss before rewards are realized." (December 2014)
  • It's not just oil and the MLPs - small cap biotech has been clobbered too!
    My ownership in this clobbered sector
    Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund CLASS N SHARES
    ETNHX
    17.77-0.70(-3.79%)
    Jan 19, 4:00PM EST
    Performance below does not reflect Today's loss of -3.79% so YTD -26.25 in 11 trading sessions. Popular bio fund FBIOX YTD -23.62XLE (oil sector E T F) YTD -11.84 % AMLP ( M L P etf ) YTD -23.4 SPY (500 stocks) YTD -7.75
    ETNHX
    Trailing returns
    1 day -2.89%
    1 week -9.55%
    4 week -21.51%
    3 month -15.40%
    YTD -22.46%
    1 year -10.84%
    3 years* +20.22%
    Standard deviation 1 yr 28.86 3 yr 25.29
    https://www.google.com/finance?q=MUTF:ETNHX&ei=BcCeVtH_LoqNmAGh5pu4Bw
    https://www.google.com/finance?q=fbiox&ei=Xr6eVrHmLIbKmAG_6oSwBw
    As of December 31, 2015:
    image
    December 31,2015 top holdings. Still full of promise.Aren't they?Maybe?Hopefully?
    Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc (5.56%) Abuse-deterrant treatments for chronic pain
    Five Prime Therapeutics Inc (4.46%) Screening human proteins to discover and develop novel drugs
    Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc (2.39%) Bringing treatments to market for debilitating genetic diseases
    Loxo Oncology Inc (2.34%) Treating cancer at the genomic level with targeted chemical therapies
    Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (2.30%) Therapies to treat thrombosis and other hematologic disorders
    TESARO Inc (2.30%) Drugs to treat cancers and reduce therapeutic side-effects
    Kite Pharma Inc (2.23%) Clinical-stage therapies that harness patients’ immune systems to Fight cancer
    DBV Technologies SA (2.21%) Patient-friendly therapies for food and pediatric allergy patients
    Celgene Corp (2.20%) Discovery, development and commercialization of life-changing cancer therapies
    Seattle Genetics Inc (2.14%) Antibody-drug combinations to treat lymphoma and other cancers
    http://eventidefunds.com/our-products/#!healthcare
  • It's not just oil and the MLPs - small cap biotech has been clobbered too!
    Many on my screen are down 50%, 60% and more. HZNP, DEPO, TLGT, RMTI, AMAG, AKRX to name just a few. And these just aren't early stage biotechs companies with no earnings on the horizon. Most have rapidly rising earnings and revenues.
  • Bond King Musical Chairs: Gundlach Replaces Gross On Barron's Roundtable
    The other MIAs were David Herro and Marc Faber. Faber's picks, despite the knitted cap he wore on stage, really tanked in 2015.
  • When Workers Complain: Discrimination Lawsuits Accuse Vanguard Of Targeting Workers
    Sometimes a lawyer might deflect the blame to a specific party within an organization rather than implicate the entire organization itself. So I don't think the statement that any misdeeds are "contrary to Vanguard's good-faith" efforts is so foolish from a PR perspective. Consider this: If Vanguard loses in the courts, these kinds of statements actually can reaffirm that it isn't Vanguard as an entire organization that is discriminating but a few bad apples in perhaps a specific department. The value of acknowledging that Vanguard is willing to correct any realized problems is significant to its brand, perhaps more valuable than any potential damages paid in individual suits. Vanguard manages a lot of money for esteemed institutions and government agencies. Those are billions in assets that could leave the door if Vanguard's brand is damaged and it is perceived as a racist, sexist institution. University money in particular and 529 plans could be vulnerable where student bodies are known to be activist and demand divestment from racist/sexist organizations. This way Vanguard can fire the ones perpetrating the discrimination if they lose the suits and blame those individuals and the specific department. Either way, it is valuable to be seen as proactive from a branding standpoint with these highly sensitive issues.
  • When Workers Complain: Discrimination Lawsuits Accuse Vanguard Of Targeting Workers
    Re: msf said: "...don't fire the lawyer for being lawyerly"
    Unless, of course, the Vanguard lawyer turns out to be older than 50 or so.... (and the behavior described by the plaintiffs is effectively 'confirmed' - if that is the word - by the court.)
  • RPHYX / RSIVX= CASH POSITION 12/31/2015
    To each his/her own. My expectations for this fund were much higher. For this fund to lose nearly 5% in one year is totally unacceptable to me. There are better options with a lower ER.
  • Leuthold Core Investment Fund Reaches 20-Year Milestone: (LCORX)
    David and our colleague Sam Lee are admirers of Leuthold.
    All its funds have beaten peers since inception on absolute return ... below are its four long funds:
    image