@kevindow

Scottrade offers both CENTX (world allocation) and CINTX (foreign LB) for $100 minimums in taxable and retirement accounts + TF.

Very helpful to know! Thanks for pointing it out. I certainly missed it. Best

Yes. I was hoping they'd do this. Especially since it is by any standards a tiny fund, $160 mln in AUM. This one's a keeper. Thanks, David_Snowball, for writing this up a few years back.

@davidrmoran,
Thanks for the Waggoner article. Here is an article in support of buying foreign equities:
The Case for Buying Foreign Stocks Now
Right now, I have the greatest confidence in the US economy, so most of our portfolio is positioned there. Our only foreign exposure comes from our EM funds: PXH, WESNX and SIGIX.
Kevin

Scottrade offers both CENTX (world allocation) and CINTX (foreign LB) for $100 minimums in taxable and retirement accounts + TF.
Kevin

@kevindow,
Thanks much. I chose (long ago) SGOIX over it, but agree it has been on a real tear.
I recently ditched OAKIX for Herro's idiot comments on global warming, and, since SGOIX is closed even to current investors, went w/ FOSFX. Shoulda switched to FMI instead.
I do not feel a need for a track record to develop w/ DSEUX, but for the last half-decade I have in any case kept at the front of my mind John Waggoner's pointing out that today no one really needs any foreign funds.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/funds/story/2012-07-04/second-quarter-mutual-funds-international/56008492/1
I just asked him if he still held this view and he said Pretty much.

PTIAX 35% Muni's as of:
FACT SHEET | DECEMBER 31, 2016
Non-Agency RMBS 43.68%
Tax-ExemptMunicipal 24.99%
Taxable Municipal 11.24%
CMBS 10.09%
CLOs 4.28%
Cash 2.14%
U.S.Treasuries 1.88%
Corporates 1.70%
http://ptiafunds.com/documents/ptiax_factsheet.pdf
No current commentary available as of 1/13/2017
High Yield Corps
Artisan High Income Fund 12/31/2017 Fact Sheet ARTFX
High yield bond yields and spreads compressed approximately 40bps in December. Since the mid-February peak in spreads, high yield bond yields are nearly 4 percentage points lower and spreads are roughly 450bps tighter. There was no bigger driver this year for credit markets than improving fundamentals in the commodity sectors. In December, the energy sector received an additional boost from OPEC’s agreement to curtail production.
Non-investment grade credit is clearly richer than it was coming into 2016 given the robust returns and degree of spread tightening that occurred. However, we believe the risk/reward opportunity in the asset class is still superior to most other areas of fixed income where yields remain quite low and possess greater interest rate risk. In that type of environment, we believe the idiosyncratic and focused nature of our portfolio is well positioned.
Corporate Bonds 74.9
Bank Loans 20.0
Equities 0.6
Cash and Equivalents 4.5
https://www.artisanpartners.com/content/dam/documents/monthly-commentary/vr/2016/dec/ARTFX-APDFX-MCommentary-1216-vR.pdf

@Sven: Actually, Russia (at 11.2%) is about to become our best buddy. We'll surely have much in common. What's not to like?

The country allocation of GVAL is bit too risky for my taste:
Russia 11.2%
Austria 10.9%
Brazil 10.2%
Portugal 9.7%
Spain 8.9%
Hungary 7.9%
Greece 7.8%
Poland 7.7%
Czech Republic 7.1%
Norway 6.5%
Hong Kong 6.2%
Italy 5.8%
I will stay with SFGIX for the emerging market. Also I established a position with DSEEX last fall - so far it has done well.

@BenWP,
FMIJX now offers an institutional class, FMIYX at lower expense ratio at 0.84% and a minimum $2,500 (not $1M with most institutional shares). At Fidelity, it requires $50 to purchase this transaction fee fund. You can buy more later via automatic investment and $5 per transaction. This was made available late last year and I have made the switch.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318342/000139834417000539/fp0023990_497.htm
497 1 fp0023990_497.htm
Towle Deep Value Fund
(Ticker Symbol: TDVFX)
A series of Investment Managers Series Trust (the “Trust)
Supplement dated January 13, 2017 to the
Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information and Summary Prospectus, dated February 1, 2016.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ON PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES
Effective as of the close of business on January 27, 2017 (the “Closing Date”), the Towle Deep Value Fund (the “Fund”) will be publicly offered on a limited basis.
After the Closing Date, only certain investors will be eligible to purchase shares of the Fund, as described below (the “closure policy”). In addition, both before and after the Closing Date, the Fund may from time to time, in its sole discretion based on the Fund’s net asset levels and other factors, limit the types of investors permitted to open new accounts, limit new purchases into the Fund or otherwise modify the closure policy at any time on a case-by-case basis.
The following groups will be permitted to continue to purchase Fund shares after the Closing Date:
1. Shareholders of record of the Fund as of the Closing Date may continue to purchase additional shares in their existing Fund accounts either directly from the Fund or through a financial intermediary and may continue to reinvest dividends or capital gains distributions from shares owned in the Fund.
2. Existing registered investment advisor (RIA) and bank trust firms that have an investment allocation to the Fund in a fee-based, wrap or advisory account may continue to add new clients or purchase shares.
3. New shareholders may open Fund accounts and purchase shares directly from the Fund (i.e. not through a financial intermediary).
4. Certain financial intermediaries may continue to open new underlying customer accounts provided the platform on which they offer access to the Fund has an existing funded position.
5. Group employer benefit plans, including 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans, and health savings account programs (and their successor, related and affiliated plans), which make the Fund available to participants on or before the Closing Date, may continue to open accounts for new participants in the Fund and purchase additional shares in existing participant accounts. New group employer benefit plans, including 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans, and health savings account programs (and their successor, related and affiliated plans), may also establish new accounts with the Fund, provided the new plans have approved and selected the Fund as an investment option by the Closing Date and the plan has also been accepted for investment by the Fund by the Closing Date.
6. Members of the Fund’s Board of Trustees, persons affiliated with the Advisor and their immediate families will be able to purchase shares of the Fund and establish new accounts.
In general, the Fund will rely on a financial intermediary to prevent a new account from being opened within an omnibus account established at that financial intermediary if the account would not otherwise satisfy the conditions outlined above. The Fund’s ability to monitor new accounts that are opened through omnibus accounts or other nominee accounts is limited and the ability to limit a new account to those that meet the above criteria with respect to financial intermediaries may vary depending upon the capabilities of those financial intermediaries. Investors may be asked to verify that they meet one of the exceptions above prior to opening a new account in the Fund. The Fund may permit you to open a new account if the Fund reasonably believes that you are eligible. The Fund also may decline to permit you to open a new account if the Fund believes that doing so would be in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders, even if you would be eligible to open a new account under these exceptions. If all shares of the Fund in an existing account are redeemed, the shareholder’s account will be closed. Such former shareholders will not be able to buy additional shares of the Fund or reopen their account.
Please file this Supplement with your records.

At Fidelity, neither is load-waived for the A shares; for $100k, you can buy the I shares for a transaction fee and no load. So, under the current offering setup, these funds don't appear to be attractive for retail investors, at Fidelity at least.

Agree with @kevindow. I made some dough when the MS fund open-ended in 2012 and for a while thereafter, but sold in 2013. I'm also aggressive, but I don't see frontier markets as a place that will improve my EM or international returns.

In my opinion the 2 best ones out there are:
Ashmore Emerging Markets Frontier Equity fund (EFEIX) and Driehaus Frontier Emerging Markets Fund (DRFRX). Small, nimble managers which is important in this space so as to not move markets. Ashmore has a long history in the space and I think $1 minimum at Schwab. Driehaus is a very solid shop. Not as long a track record in Frotnier but a proven model for picking stocks. Minimum may be very high though to get into that fund.

From the talk by Deshpande a month ago:
"Finally, and most importantly the employees of Centerstone have invested eight figures
in total into the Funds. There can be, in my mind, no other greater alignment of interest
than investing alongside one’s client base."
Eight figures means more than $10M. The total AUM of the two funds is approximately $60M. In other words, unless I am mistaken, he says that more than 15% of the AUM of the two funds is due to the investment of the employees of Centerstone.

I want to add to DSEEX but see that I am ~75% equities, which is too high, so I don't know what to do. (I know what to do, just don't want to.) I just read the detailed and carefully substantiated Goldman analyses of conditions for 2017, which are optimistic. I will move some more cash into PONDX, PDI, and FRIFX, though not FNMIX.

I would vote for TRMCX manager Wallack for MoTY. I was able to purchase this fund in May 2009, just after it reopened to new investors. My last buys were in late January and February 2016. Later it didn't go unnoticed by me that the fund was doing quite well.. Mid year I saw the updated portfolio and saw why - Energy.
I believe that his management skills have added value in excess of the fees paid. I'm also in Primecap and have been for almost 20 years. I think they received this award in the past.

@kevindow Your point was that the fund will not close anytime soon because the manager's intention is "looking for assets like First Eagle," which the manager has stated is false.
The manager has between 50-100K in the domestic fund; he has none in the international fund. I like to see managers have some meaningful stake in their products, but at the same time I don't conclude that they "don't have confidence" in their own ability.
You are very correct in stating that it may take "5 or more years" for the fund to reach 10B at its present pace!
OTOH, I'm unconvinced that if the fund reaches that amount that "greed will overcome principle like it usually does," especially when the manager has stated that he will limit assets. What I have seen in my past investment experience is that managers who have said that they will close the cash windows do follow through, and so I'm making a judgment in the case of Mr. Deshpande that he will do the same. Based on what he has said and written publicly indicates that his goal is to produce superior returns, not accumulate assets, and so I will take him as a man of principle rather than as someone following his own selfish interests.
I have a very favorable opinion of FMIJX but do not own it.
Best.