https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/3521/000119312519186064/d749776d497.htm
497 1 d749776d497.htm TAF ALGER SMALL CAP FOCUS FUND
THE ALGER FUNDS
Alger Small Cap Focus Fund
July 1, 2019 Supplement to the Statutory and Summary
Prospectuses dated March 1, 2019, as supplemented to date
The Board of Trustees of The Alger Funds has authorized a partial closing of Alger Small Cap Focus Fund (the “Fund”), effective July 31, 2019.
The Fund’s Class A and C Shares will be available for purchase by existing shareholders of the Fund who maintain open accounts.
The Fund’s Class I and Z Shares will be available for purchase by existing shareholders of the Fund who maintain open accounts and investors who transact with certain broker-dealers identified by Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated, the Fund’s distributor. Please check with your financial advisor regarding the availability of Class I and Z shares of the Fund for purchase at their firm.
In addition, the Funds Class A, C, I and Z shares will be available to new investors that utilize certain retirement record keeping platforms identified by the Fund’s distributor.
The Fund’s Class Y Shares will remain open to all qualifying investors.
The Fund may resume sales to all investors (or further suspend sales) at some future date if the Board of Trustees determines that doing so would be in the best interest of shareholders.

Yes, our 1939/1940 cohort was very fortunate in still being able to obtain well-paying jobs with only a high school education + some technical training (building trades apprenticeship, mechanical OJT, or military experience for example). Not so now, at least for most people.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-27/wall-street-muni-analysts-say-best-of-2019-is-already-behind-us
Wall Street Muni Analysts Say Best of 2019 Is Already Behind Us
Market largely seen steadying after best start since 2014
No dramatic shifts seen, with yields seen holding low
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Share
Tweet
Post
Email
In this article
BARC
BARCLAYS PLC
149.80
GBp
-0.20-0.13%
BAC
BANK OF AMERICA
28.99
USD
+0.78+2.75%
An unbroken flow of cash into the municipal-bond market since early January has driven the securities to a 5.1 percent return, the best start to a year since 2014, according to Bloomberg Barclays indexes.

Sorry, did not see that M* FD1001 is the same person as FD1000 (just updated, looks like) cited earlier by other posters; old takes, in other words.

+1. TRUTH.

Maybe Bernie should call it the Paying Back America for Bailing You Out in 2008 Tax. Seems these Wall Street guys like socialism when it benefits them.

Interesting link, @davidmoran, to 2013 MFO commentary. The link to Sam Lee's M* article on CAPE is worthwhile, particularly where he says he'd prefer more history than just back to 2002. He was also very prescient in saying he'd feel more comfortable if CAPE were shown to work in overseas markets. As members have said here, DEULX has not really shown much until this year.
My re-reading also reminded me that the Oakseed Boys were announced with some fanfare in that issue of MFO and RPHYX appeared to be a world-beater. History was not kind to SEEDX (liquidated in 2017) and RPHYX tested shareholders' patience when Mr. Sherman seemed to stumble in trying to explain a period of severe under performance. I previously in this thread noted (obliquely) that Ryan Caldwell's Chiron Capital Allocation (CCAPX) fund benefited from a nice write up in MFO and then promptly showed it couldn't keep up with its M* bogey. The success of CAPE really stands out against a backdrop of a several failed efforts to invent a new mousetrap.

Some interesting things I found tonight:
- boilerplate from DoubleLine which somehow I missed before:
'The Fund may use leverage which may cause the effect of an increase or decrease in the value of the portfolio securities to be magnified and the Fund to be more volatile than if leverage was not used.'
- smartguy FD1001 on M* forums has done extensive crunching on managing volatility.
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/Exchange-Traded-Funds/Low-Volatility-ETFs/m-p/9630
shoutout to DSEEX
similar more recently here:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/Allocation-Balanced-Funds/DoubleLine-Shiller-Enhanced-CAPE-I-DSEEX/td-p/7228
Q&A not by him (which a look at CAPE could've partly answered):
Q - One thing that's confusing: is it DSEEX's bond sleeve that's been responsible for its 3% annual outperformance over SPY? Or is it the Shiller sector selection methodology that favors the cheapest sectors? Does anyone know? Have the fund managers commented on this point?
A - Last webcast covered this. Over last 5-1/2 years of fund existence, the fixed income portfolio annualized return was 296 bps. Over the same timeframe, DSEEX outperformed the S&P500 Index by 340 bps per year, NET of expenses (trading costs and expense ratios). Note: The fixed income portfolio is designed to be low volatility with the objective of outperforming cash. It is used as collateral to fund the total return swap on the Schiller Barclay CAPE Index.
FD1001 MFO-type profile:
https://community.morningstar.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3408 ;
more:
http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/blogs/fd1000/archive/2014/05/14/investing-and-my-basic-system.aspx
Historical shoutouts:
DSnowball (https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2013/11/november-1-2013/) alerted us all to Lee's kickoff analysis almost 7y ago:
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/583010/cape-crusader.html

>> Barclays calculated the index values at least as far back as 2012
You mean 2002, correct?
That is odd he would make such a bald volatility claim, as I study this graph, yes.
https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/VZJ_aAz5A0gSKHXbVIpZZg--~A/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NDgwO2g9MzY3O2lsPXBsYW5l/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/en_us/Finance/US_AHTTP_SeekingAlpha_ETF_H_LIVE/saupload_cape-hypo_thumb1.jpg
To my eye it does not show 'that volatility has changed significantly between the 2002-2013 period'. Yours?
MFOP's 5y UI for DSEEX is slightly higher than for CAPE (which is slightly higher than for VFINX, yes), indicating the Gundlach bond sauce does not modulate anything, by my grokking anyway.

\\\ ... pointing to the fact that using CAPE as an investment strategy has shown lower volatility and a higher rate of return over time
>> I don't know what he was looking at.
Well, he's speaking after CAPE has been in operation only 54 weeks, right?

Sure, but he wasn't talking about literally buying the CAPE ETN as an investment strategy. (CAPE doesn't appear in the DoubleLine fund, to state the obvious). The index on which both DSENX and CAPE are based was launched by Barclays in 2012. However, Barclays calculated the index values at least as far back as 2012. (See CAPE prospectus, p. PS-33, pdf p. 36).
Take your pick: Gundlach was not aware of the available data as he promoted his fund, representing volatility figures of those 54 weeks as being "over time"; he was aware of the available data going back a decade but chose to disregard it in representing the investment strategy as having low volatility; or he did consider that data, it confirmed his claim of lower relative volatility, and that volatility has changed significantly between the 2002-2013 period and the 2012-2019 (present) period.
Any better alternatives that might make one more comfortable?
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/barclays-shiller-cape-sector-rotation-123731560.html

Seeing as DSENX invests in those sectors that are the cheapest, I would it expect it to be less volatile than the market and that it would resist downdrafts better. Why don't the numbers play out this way? The downside capture ratios are all slightly greater than 100%.

Apparently Gundlach also thinks so:

“We think [DSENX/DSEEX is] a better mousetrap,” he said, pointing to the fact that using CAPE as an investment strategy has shown lower volatility and a higher rate of return over time. Hopefully, the fixed-income expert says, it will result in “a tastes great, less filling type of investment experience.”

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2013/11/22/gundlach-on-shiller-cape-fund-a-better-mousetrap/
I don't know what he was looking at. According to Porfolio Visualizer, over the lifetime of CAPE, VVIAX and VFINX have been similarly volatile (std. dev about 11) based on monthly returns, while CAPE's std dev was nearly 12.
There's greater separation in maximum drawdowns: about 11% for the value index, 13½% for the 500 index, and 15¼% for CAPE.

Schwab. At 134.57, at 3:40PM, 134.48 bid and 134.75 ask, so a 27 cent spread. What I have found, if I'm buying, is to put in a pretty low offer, maybe a cent or two above the low of the day and hope to get that price at the end of the day. Volume is really low, so it can be frustrating.

FYI: One of the signature achievements of the post-millennial capital markets is the driving down of investor costs to near zero, via Reg NMS which did away with the fraction spreads market makers once enjoyed and converted stock exchanges to a decimalized system.
While there have been winners and losers as a result of this and other improvements, no one would argue that the individual investor hasn’t become better off – more access, lower costs, increased liquidity. The concurrent shrinking of the average internal expense ratio at mutual funds and ETFs has been undeniably positive for the end investor trying to save for college, retirement, etc.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is now calling for a transactions tax on investors and traders that would represent a big step backwards for market participants, with the altruistic goal of wiping out the $1.6 trillion in student debt that many believe is holding back the economic potential of millions of young Americans.
Regards,
Ted

InvestmentNews Article:
https://www.investmentnews.com/article/20190624/FREE/190629961/wall-street-lashes-out-at-bernie-sanders-plan-to-pay-off-student

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915802/000139834419011143/fp0043536_497.htm
497 1 fp0043536_497.htm
FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST
RiverFront Asset Allocation Income & Growth
RiverFront Asset Allocation Growth
SUPPLEMENT DATED JUNE 25, 2019 TO THE SUMMARY PROSPECTUSES AND PROSPECTUS
DATED FEBRUARY 28, 2019, AS SUPPLEMENTED JUNE 25, 2019, AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DATED FEBRUARY 28, 2019, AS SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME
At a meeting held on June 11-12, 2019, the Board of Trustees of Financial Investors Trust (the “Trust”) approved Agreements and Plans of Reorganization providing for the reorganization of RiverFront Asset Allocation Income & Growth and RiverFront Asset Allocation Growth, each a series of the Trust (each, a “Target Fund” and collectively, the “Target Funds”) into RiverFront Asset Allocation Moderate and RiverFront Asset Allocation Growth & Income, respectively, each a series of the Trust (each, an “Acquiring Fund”) (each, a “Reorganization” and collectively, the “Reorganizations”).
Shareholders of each Target Fund as of the close of business on July 12, 2019 will receive more information about such Target Fund’s Reorganization in a separate information statement. The Reorganizations do not require shareholder approval and therefore no action is being requested of shareholders. The closing date of the Reorganizations is expected to be on or about August 5, 2019 (the “Closing Date”).
As a result of the Reorganizations, shareholders of each Target Fund will become shareholders of the corresponding Acquiring Fund. Shareholders of each Target Fund will receive shares of the corresponding Acquiring Fund with an aggregate value equal to the aggregate value of their shares of the Target Fund held immediately prior to the Reorganization. After the Reorganizations are complete, the Target Funds will be liquidated and terminated. Each of the Reorganizations is expected to be a tax-free, therefore shareholders should not realize a tax gain or loss as a direct result of the Reorganization. The expenses incurred in connection with the Reorganizations will be paid by ALPS Advisors, Inc.
Purchases with respect to the Target Funds were permitted through the close of business on June 21, 2019.
INVESTORS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

@MFO Members: A video is worth a thousand words !
Regards,
Ted
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/06/24/etf-edge-june-24-2019.html

Inflows remain positive for 2019, but flows have been choppy and are seeing a notable deceleration from 2018.
Top ETF performers for 2019 (excluding leveraged and inverse ETFs) include:
Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) up 51%
Invesco DWA Technology Momentum ETF (PTF) up 41%
Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) up 39%
ARK Genomic Revolutio ETF (ARKG) up 35%
Global X MSCI Greece ETF (GREK) up 34%.
How desperate are we for yield? Very--and getting more so. It's not enough to buy high yield funds, now we have funds of funds looking to maximize yield. Last week saw the launch of Belpointe Tactical Income ETF (TBND), a portfolio of global equities and bonds focused on income. Holdings include the iShares U.S. Real Estate (IYR), iShares TIPS Bond (TIP), iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond (EMB) and the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (HYG). That is quite a mash-up. Not clear that mixing and matching relatively high yield funds will produce higher yields than another fund, or that risk will be lower.
For up-to-date information on the latest ETF trends, catch me live on Mondays at 1pm ET on
Cnbc.com/etf-edge
Bob
Bob Pisani

@BenWP,
What brokerage do you use for CAPE?
Bid-ask of 16 cents on $134 (if I am reading the Fidelity listing right) does not sound so wide, and it tracks its NAV pretty closely. Am I missing something?

When you graph PSTKX ($1M minimum; PSPAX is the investor class) vs IVV over periods shorter than the last 8-9y, the added value from the bond sauce sure looks tiny, sometime nonexistent, and also sometimes worsening rather than buffering dips and volatility.
I wonder what its appeal is, really, when one would probably do better holding IVV and PONAX.
Rather than getting deep in the weeds of the magic mechanisms and contents of these funds, I find it easier just to be empirical and look at performance: consistent tracking of SP500, plus sauce. Same as seeing Fido means a share swap is not a buy. Fascinating explanation from Parsec, @msf, thanks --- technically true, but essentially something else. Love it. Editing financial and other lawyers, and their legalese and lay translations of same, has always been among the funner parts of my career work.

@Mona - not sure if this will help you or not but the security type breakdown as a % of net assets according to the annual report of March 31, 2019 says:
Non-Agency Commercial Mortgage Backed Obligations - 12.9%
Collateralized Loan Obligations - 12.3
Non-Agency Residential Collateralized Mortgage Obligations - 12.0
Short Term Investments - 11.2
US Government and Agency Obligations - 9.1
Foreign Corporate Bonds - 9.0
Bank Loans - 7.9
US Government and Agency Mortgage Backed Obligations - 7.0
Asset Backed Obligations - 6.5
US Corporate Bonds - 4.8
Affiliated Mutual Funds - 3.4
Foreign Government Bonds, Foreign Agencies and Foreign Government Sponsored Corporations - 0.5
Exchange Traded Funds and Common Stocks - 0.0
Other Assets and Liabilities - 3.4

The affiliated mutual fund is a DoubleLine bond fund. On this balance sheet, there are no equities. I believe the other assets and liabilities include the net value of the swap contracts.
Just as PIMCO StocksPlus PSTKX has no equities but does its "magic" with derivatives, so does this fund. DSEEX works similarly to the way M* describes the PIMCO fund. Key differences of the PIMCO fund are: different index tracked, done with futures rather than swaps, and differently manged bond portfolio (DSEEX seems more aggressive, but that should be checked):

It seeks to track the S&P 500 using futures and generate excess returns of 75-125 basis points over a market cycle from an actively managed short-term bond strategy. As the derivatives require only a small cash outlay, the fund can provide 100% notional exposure to the performance of both the S&P 500 and the bond portfolio.