@MFO Members: Who would have thought that David Winters, who honed his skills under Max Heine and Michael Price at Mutual Series, and once considered a rising star in the fund world, would come to an end after fourteen years at the helm of Wintergreen Fund. But the numbers tell the story of his downfall, the fund was in the 100% percentile during it's life.
Regards,
Ted

@Derf
I don't know why Vanguard would have a problem allowing more than 1 beneficiary. We've set primary and secondary beneficiaries "on-line" through our accounts. I've seen primary, secondary and/or co-beneficiary listed as choices at various accounts over the years.
Beneficiaries/co-beneficiaries would be of the same legal status with a 401k, 403b, 457, traditional or Roth IRA to the best of my knowledge. To the point of superseding a will for purposes of distribution at death. Beneficiary is the first trump card.
If any know of a variance with the above; please let us know.
ADD: Derf, here is the Vanguard link explaining beneficiary designation.
Ok.......you're on your own from here tonight. Early rise next day and pillow time calls.

@hank
I usually check links, but didn't tonight. An extra add remained in the link box that opens here, at MFO. Usually the header is overwritten, this time the header remained.
The link header being, http:// This messed the link coding.
Hank, I don't know what you may access at Amazon for movies, but this is a must that ties into today's legal battles. The story of the battle and decisions from the Washington Post to release the Pentagon Papers to the public. This link is a multi Google search so that one may dig around to learn a bit more.
The Post
@msf What you noted, is of consequence to some folks; I would agree. And the note about ERISA. I don't know about her plan, but I know 2 retired hospital employees and their 403b was not ERISA compliant, or whatever the proper term. Thank you.

@rforno
+1

Open a new one and close an old one. Bury the failures. Fuel the survivorship bias.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/49196/flip-side-hussman-strategic-endowment-fund-in-registration

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326544/000089418919002203/wintergreen_497e.htm
497 1 wintergreen_497e.htm SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
WINTERGREEN FUND, INC.
(the “Fund”)
April 17, 2019
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus each dated April 30, 2018, as amended.
At a meeting held on April 15, 2019, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Wintergreen Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) approved the liquidation and dissolution of the Fund. Effective immediately at market close on April 17, 2019, the Fund has suspended most sales of its shares pending the completion of the liquidation and the payment of liquidating distributions to its shareholders. The Fund expects to make the liquidating distributions and cease operations on or shortly after June 3, 2019 (the “Liquidation Date”).
In limited circumstances, such as sales to certain retirement plans and sales made through retail omnibus platforms, the Fund will continue to offer its shares for a limited time, but no offer or sale of Fund shares will be made after April 30, 2019.
Shareholders should be aware that the Fund will convert its assets to cash and/or cash equivalents before the liquidating distributions are made to shareholders. After the Fund converts its assets to cash, the Fund will no longer pursue its stated investment objective or engage in any business activities except for the purposes of winding up its business and affairs, preserving the value of its assets, paying its liabilities, and distributing its remaining assets to shareholders.
In connection with the liquidation, the Board approved the immediate suspension of the Fund’s distribution and/or service (Rule 12b-1) fees. The Board also approved a waiver of the redemption fee of 2.00% imposed on shares redeemed within 60 days of purchase for redemptions of Fund shares that occur after the date of this supplement.
If a shareholder has not redeemed his or her shares prior to May 30, 2019, then the shareholder’s account will be automatically redeemed and proceeds will be sent to the shareholder’s address of record.
The liquidation of the Fund, like any redemption of Fund shares, will constitute an event upon which a gain or loss may be recognized for state and federal income tax purposes, depending on the type of account and the adjusted cost basis of the investor’s shares. The tax year for the Fund will end on the Liquidation Date.
The Fund expects to make one or more distributions of income and/or net capital gains prior to the Liquidation Date in order to eliminate Fund-level taxes. The Fund must declare and distribute to shareholders realized capital gains, if any, and all net investment income no later than the final liquidation distribution. The Fund currently expects to pay a capital gains distribution prior to the liquidation of the Fund. As with any other distribution, such pre-liquidation distribution by the Fund will be taxable unless you hold shares in a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or a retirement plan.
Please contact your tax advisor to discuss the tax consequences to you of the liquidation.
Important Action Required for Direct Shareholders with IRA Accounts
As an IRA account shareholder holding an account directly with the Fund, you should contact a shareholder service representative at 1-888-468-6473 to arrange a transfer of your Fund assets to another IRA custodian.
Please respond by May 30, 2019. If we do not receive a response by May 30, 2019, your investment in the Fund will be liquidated as an age-based distribution with 10% federal withholding on the Liquidation Date. Please also note that state withholding may also apply. Checks will be mailed to your address of record. You may have a limited time, typically 60 days, to reinvest proceeds to avoid tax consequences.
* * * * * *
YOU SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT WITH YOUR PROSPECTUS AND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

FYI: Investors sent a net $6.2billion into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that hold billion into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that hold U.S. stocks last week, ending a two-week retreat from the domestic stock market, according to data released Wednesday by the Investment Company Institute.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-mutualfunds-ici/table-investors-jump-back-into-u-s-stock-market-after-two-week-retreat-idUSL1N21Z0XC

Does anyone have John Hussman’s own remarks to his investors for what went wrong here? Since it appears other Hussman funds are remaining open or being opened, it would be out of character of him not to comment on this closure. Not that anybody cares. But it would be interesting to some of us, anyway, to hear what he sees as the primary reason for the fund’s failure.
You could argue that there’s more - or at least an equal amount - to be learned from failure than from success. I think Musk had 3 Falcon 1 rockets blow up before one actually made it to space. There was a “cute” cliche widely touted in education seminars 30 years ago: “Monitor and adjust.” - :) Of course, that gem can be applied to most disciplines.
PS - While I found one poster’s video amusing, most will agree Hussman had more education and intellect than the fictionalized 60s television persona the poster linked above. It doesn’t take a lot of brains to lose money, but having the afore-mentioned education / intellect is no guarantee that you won’t either.

FYI: Stories Discussed:
.High yielding stocks
.Money made by chance
.Ray Dalio thinks capitalism is broken
.Sometimes your friends beat you
.College grads selling a piece of themselves
.How do financial advisors spend their time?
.Retail pain
.Amazon’s letter to shareholders
.Is voice the future?
.Disney plus
.Pensions have a problem, and it’s not their investments
.House flipping is back
.Where active management really works
.Investing in the real world
Regards,
Ted
https://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2019/04/17/animal-spirits-money-made-by-chance/

Gosh. That one good year (2018) went to his head. The guy can’t stand success. :)

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1110502/000139834419006651/fp0041132_497.htm
497 1 fp0041132_497.htm
April 16, 2019
HUSSMAN INVESTMENT TRUST
HUSSMAN STRATEGIC VALUE FUND
Supplement to the Prospectus dated November 1, 2018
Effective immediately, Hussman Strategic Value Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Hussman Investment Trust (the “Trust”), is terminating the public offering of its shares. Shares of the Fund are therefore no longer available for purchase by investors. As discussed below, all outstanding shares of the Fund will be redeemed at their net asset value per share determined as of the close of business on May 29, 2019 (the “Redemption Date”).
The redemption of all outstanding shares of the Fund was approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) based on the Board’s determination, in consultation with the Fund’s investment adviser, Hussman Strategic Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) that, given the Fund’s very small asset size relative to its fixed expenses, and the Fund’s limited expectation of growing its assets from sales of additional shares to investors, failure to redeem all shares could have materially adverse consequences to the Fund and its shareholders. Through the Redemption Date, the Adviser will continue to reduce its fees and to reimburse expenses of the Fund as necessary to limit the ordinary operating expenses of the Fund to 1.25% annually of the Fund’s average daily net assets (as described in the Prospectus).
All shares of the Fund will be redeemed on the Redemption Date, and the proceeds of the redemption of shares held in each shareholder’s account will be sent to the shareholder’s address of record or to such other address as may be directed by the shareholder, including special instructions that may be needed for Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) and other tax deferred retirement accounts (as discussed below). Between the date of this Supplement and the Redemption Date, the portfolio securities of the Fund will be sold in an orderly manner as necessary to satisfy redemption requests and to effect redemptions of shares on the Redemption Date. This liquidation of the Fund’s portfolio holdings will reduce, and eventually eliminate, the Fund’s normal exposure to equity investments. Accordingly, during the liquidation process through the Redemption Date, the Fund will not be pursuing its stated investment objective.
Shareholders continue to have the right to redeem their Fund shares or to exchange those shares for shares of any of the other Hussman funds on each business day prior to the Redemption Date. Redemptions (including the redemption of shares in connection with an exchange) will be processed at the net asset value per share of the Fund next computed after receipt of the redemption or exchange request. Shareholders wishing to exchange their shares of the Fund for shares of another Hussman fund should obtain and read carefully the prospectus of the Hussman fund into which you wish to exchange shares before submitting an exchange request.*
The redemption of shares of the Fund, and the exchange of shares of the Fund for shares of another of the Hussman funds, as described in this Prospectus Supplement, will each for tax purposes be considered a sale of your Fund shares. Shareholders should consult with their own tax advisors to ensure proper treatment of the redemption or exchange on their income tax returns. In addition, shareholders invested in the Fund through an IRA or other tax-deferred retirement account should consult the rules regarding reinvestment of their redemption proceeds. In order to avoid the taxation of redemption proceeds in the current tax year, such a shareholder may choose to authorize, prior to the Redemption Date, a direct transfer of their retirement account assets invested in the Fund to another IRA or tax-deferred retirement account. Generally, a shareholder will have 60 days from the Redemption Date to invest their redemption proceeds in another IRA or tax-deferred retirement account to avoid treatment of the redemption proceeds as taxable income for the current tax year.
If you have any questions regarding your investment, or the redemption or exchange of Fund shares as described in this Prospectus Supplement, please call 1-800-487-7626.
Investors Should Retain this Supplement for Future Reference
* Before deciding whether to exchange your shares of the Fund for shares of another one of the Hussman funds, you should consider carefully the investment objective, risks, and charges and expenses of the other fund. The prospectuses for the Hussman funds are available at www.hussmanfunds.com or can be obtained by calling 1-800-487-7626. Please read the applicable prospectus carefully before investing. Purchases of shares of a fund acquired by means of an exchange will be effected at the net asset value of that fund next determined after receipt of your exchange request.

Interesting read that counsels lightening up on equities before a predicted earnings recession sets in. Is this in contrast to Black Rock Chief Executive Larry Fink's pondering about a possible coming stock market melt up (see short article linked below)? Or, perhaps this is just the sequence of events that gets to unfold over the next few months as animal spirits shine for a while longer before being crushed.
From this Morgan Stanley GIC Weekly:

It is appropriate that risk premiums have readjusted for the change in Fed policy, but valuation multiples are now at the high end of their range....We believe the headwinds from a weakening Europe, a strong US dollar, rising labor costs, higher oil and industrial metals prices, increased capital costs and above-average inventories will cause an earnings recession and further disappointment....Consider taking profits in the tech sector, where valuations are rich and negative operating leverage on profits may be most severe

From the short article linked below:

“Despite where the markets are in equities, we have not seen money being put to work,” Fink said. “We have record amounts of money in cash.”...Fink said the dovishness of central bankers creates a shortage of “good assets,” which could serve as a trigger for a global melt-up in equity prices.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/blackrocks-fink-says-stock-market-at-risk-of-a-melt-up-not-a-meltdown-2019-04-16

FYI: Remember Corporate Fundamentals?
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morganstanley.com/pub/content/dam/wmdc/faws/documents/home-office/global-investment-committee/gic-weekly.pdf

"Wealthfront, for example, harvests losses by switching between the Vanguard ETF and the Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sec-fintech/sec-sanctions-robo-advisers-wealthfront-hedgeable-idUSKCN1OK22E
Wealthfront, for example, was fined $250,000 by the SEC for allegedly making "false statements about a tax-loss harvesting strategy it offered to clients."

The company had told clients using the service that it would monitor all clients’ accounts for transactions that might trigger a sale of securities that would diminish the benefits of the tax-loss strategy but it failed to do so, the SEC alleged.
For a period of over three years these sales occurred in at least 31 percent of accounts enrolled in the company’s tax-loss harvesting strategy, the SEC alleged.
[The SEC also claimed that Wealthfront paid bloggers for client referrals w/o disclosure, and that it posted performance figures that included less than 4% of their clients' accounts - the better performing ones, of course.]

Definitely beware the bold claims when they're paid testimonials and rigged numbers.

FYI: Today, Morningstar revealed the nominees for the Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence--Outstanding Portfolio Manager. Morningstar analysts nominated five candidates for the award across equity, fixed-income, and multi-asset categories. The winner will be announced during the Morningstar Investment Conference in May 2019.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/923257/5-nominees-for-outstanding-portfolio-manager.html

FYI: I know several CPAs who are closing in on retirement and they’re all saying the same thing: Thanks to the new tax laws that went into effect last year, the just-ended tax season was a doozy. Although many fewer taxpayers are expected to itemize their deductions under the new tax regime, tax preparers still had to run the numbers to compare deductions eligible for itemization with the new, higher standard deduction.
There’s also the form itself: While the 1040 form itself has fewer lines, many of the line items on the old 1040 have been scattered across six new schedules. Having spent some time with the new form, I'm unconvinced this is an improvement.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/923273/what-you-can-learn-from-your-2018-tax-return.html

FYI: The exchange-traded fund industry has claimed credit for democratizing strategies once available only to the rich, such as trading oil futures or using leverage to amplify returns. The latest target: your tax bill.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.wsj.com/articles/beware-the-bold-claims-of-tax-loss-harvesting-11555153200?mod=md_mf_news

Michael Lewis's "The Fifth Risk" is a compilation of previous articles and some new material on the consequences of Trump's appointees to key government departments, as Lewis B alluded to. Truly frightening.
As to Herman Cain's candidacy for the Fed, I recall a friend talking about how amusing Cain was as a presidential candidate in 2012. At the time I don't think any of us realized that the idiocies of that Republican primary campaign were but a prelude to the unreal 2016 primaries which brought us today's lunacy. It's no longer a laughing matter.

The fact is you don't want stupid people in charge of any government agency but for obvious reasons this Fed appointment is getting the most attention. I am far more concerned about idiot Trump appointees in charge of for instance the Department of Energy which is responsible for our nuclear arsenal or the Department of Agriculture responsible for food stamp and food safety or the Department of Education: https://vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/department-of-energy-risks-michael-lewis
That said, if the U.S. were to lose its world reserve currency status I think it would be game over for us as a superpower and our markets would crash, especially the ones we often view as the safest--Treasuries.

Trump’s decision to consider close political allies for the central bank comes at a sensitive moment for the world economy and the IMF.

When isn't it a sensitive moment? The problem is having nationalists in charge of the world's most powerful country when we're now living--and have for at least 100 years-- in a global economy in which everything is intricately linked.