Congress All Cap Opportunity Fund
Congress All Cap Opportunity Fund will seek long term capital appreciation by, uh, buying stocks. All Cap stocks. “The Fund’s investment premise is that market inefficiencies exist between fixed income and equity valuations which, if properly identified, can lead to investment opportunities which can be exploited.” One would think that their “investment premise” might lead them to be able to invest in either stocks or bonds (a la FPA Crescent) but no. They’ll mostly buy U.S. stocks, with a cap of 10% on international securities, although they may derive international exposure through other holdings. The investment minimum is $2000. The managers are Daniel Lagan and Peter Andersen, both employees of Congress Asset Management Company. Neither has experience in managing a mutual fund, but their private account composite ($30 million against their firm’s total AUM of $7 billion) has outperformed the all-stock Russell 3000 index for the past 1, 3, and 5 years. The expense ratio is 1% after a substantial waiver. There’s also a 1% redemption fee.
Congress Mid Cap Growth Fund
Congress Mid Cap Growth Fund will pursue growth by investing in U.S. midcap stocks. They define mid-caps as capitalizations between $1-5 billion. The plan is to invest in companies that “are experiencing or will experience earnings growth.” For reasons unclear to me, they limit their international investments to 10% of the portfolio. The managers are Daniel Lagan and Todd Solomon, both employees of Congress Asset Management Company. Neither has experience in managing a mutual fund, but their private account composite (also $30 million against their fund’s total AUM of $7 billion) has outperformed the Russell Mid-Cap Growth index for the past 1, 3, 5 and 10 years. The investment minimum is $2000. The expense ratio is 1% after a substantial waiver. There’s also a 1% redemption fee.
Drexel Hamilton Multi-Asset Real Return Fund
Drexel Hamilton Multi-Asset Real Return Fund will pursue total return, which is to say “returns that exceeds U.S. inflation over a full inflation cycle, which is typically 5 years.” The fund will invest globally in both securities (including REITs) and other funds (including ETNs and ETFs). It will mostly invest in other Drexel Hamilton funds, but also in TIPs and commodity-linked ETFs. Moving a bit further in hedge fund land, they’ll also hedge “to help manage interest rate exposure, protect Fund assets or enhance returns.” And, too, in “response to adverse market, economic or political conditions, or when the Adviser believes that market or economic conditions are unfavorable,” they may go to cash. Andrew Bang of Drexel Hamilton will manage the fund. Mr. Bang, a West Point graduate with an MBA from Cornell, was “a Vice President at AIG Global Investments and a Portfolio Manager in the pension group of GE Asset Management (GEAM), where he oversaw institutional clients’ investments in global and international equity portfolios in excess of $2.5 billion.” The minimum initial investment is $5000. The expense ratio will be 1.81% after waivers.
DMS India Bank Index Fund
DMS India Bank Index Fund will attempt to track the CNX Bank Index. The index includes the 12 largest Indian bank stocks, which comprise 90% of the market cap of the Indian bank sector. The fund will seek to own all of the stocks in the index, rather than engaging in sampling or the use of derivatives. The fund will be managed by Peter Kohli, CEO of DMS Advisors. The minimum initial investment will be $1500. Expenses are estimated at 0.96%, with the caveat that the fund might have to pay Indian capital gains taxes in which case the expenses would be higher. If you’re really curious, details about the index are available here.
Dreman Domestic Large Cap Over-Reaction Fund
Dreman Domestic Large Cap Over-Reaction Fund will seek high total return by investing in undervalued US large cap stocks. They intend to use “quantitative screening process to identify overlooked large cap companies with low price-to-earnings ratios, solid financial strength and strong management, that are selling below their intrinsic value and that pay relatively high dividends.” The fund will be managed by a small team headed by the legendary David Dreman. The fund’s global stock sibling, Dreman Market Over-Reaction (DRAQX), has been sort of a dud. That said, Dreman is revered. The expense ratio for “A” class shares, which have a 5.75% front load, will be 1.25% after waivers. The minimum invest is $2500 with a high $1000 minimum subsequent investment.
ING Strategic Income
ING Strategic Income “A” class shares, will seek “a high level of current income,” and perhaps a bit of capital growth. It will be a fund of income-oriented funds. They will have asset allocation targets, to which the managers make tactical adjustments. They do not, however, seem to reveal what those targets are. The fund will be managed by three ING employees (Christine Hurtsellers, Michael Mata and Matthew Toms), who previously worked for, oh, Freddie Mac, Putnam, Lehman Brothers and (the bright spot) Calamos and Northern. The minimum investment will be $1000, reduced to $250 for IRAs. It has a 2.5% front load, making it a sort of “low-load” fund. Expenses have not yet been set. Absent a disclosure of the asset allocation, publication of low expenses and access to a load-waived share class, I’m unclear on why the fund is attractive.
Jacobs | Broel Value Fund
Jacobs | Broel Value Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation. They plan a 15-20 stock portfolio, selected according to their “value-contrarian investment philosophy” (which, frankly, looks like everyone else’s). They can invest in preferred shares and convertible securities, as well as common stocks, ETFs and closed-end funds. The managers will be Peter Jacobs, President and Chief Investment Officer of Jacobs | Broel Asset Management, and Jesse Broel, their Chief Operating Officer. Both have worked a lot with the Ragen MacKenzie division of Wells Fargo. Neither seems to have experience in running a mutual fund. $5000 investment minimum, reduced to $1000 for tax-advantaged accounts and those with AIPs. The expense ratio will be 1.48% and there will be a 2% redemption fee.
Matisse Discounted Closed-End Fund Strategy
Matisse Discounted Closed-End Fund Strategy will pursue long-term capital appreciation and income through buying “closed-end funds which pay regular periodic cash distributions, the interests of which typically trade at substantial discounts relative to their underlying net asset values.” They intend to be “globally balanced” and to hold 30-90 closed-end funds. The managers will be Bryn Torkelson, Eric Boughton, and Gavin Morton of Deschutes Portfolio Strategies, LLC. Mr. Torkelson is their founder and Chief Investment Officer. In an interesting twist, the prospectus directly compares their separate account composite to the performance of RiverNorth Core Opportunity (RNCOX) and several other CEF-focused mutual funds. They modestly outperform RNCOX until you add in their management fees, which the performance table excludes. Then they modestly trail RNCOX. The minimum initial investment will be $1000. The projected expense ratio is 2.68% after waivers. There’s also a 2% redemption fee on shares held fewer than 60 days.
SPDR SSgA Ultra Short Term Bond, Conservative Ultra Short Term Bond and Aggressive Ultra Short Term Bond
SPDR SSgA Ultra Short Term Bond, Conservative Ultra Short Term Bond and Aggressive Ultra Short Term Bond will be three actively-managed ETFs. Each seeks to produce “income consistent with preservation of capital through short duration high quality investments” but they do so with slightly different degrees of aggressiveness. Tom Connelley and Maria Pino, both Vice Presidents of SSgA FM and Senior Portfolio Managers for their U.S. Cash Management group, will manage the funds. The expenses have not yet been announced and, being ETFs, there is no investment minimum.
Wasatch Emerging Markets Select
Wasatch Emerging Markets Select fund will pursue long term growth. It will be an all-cap fund holding 30-50 stocks, and the prospectus describes it as non-diversified. The managers will be Ajay Krishnan, who also manages Ultra Growth, Emerging India and Global Opportunities, and Roger Edgly, who manages International Growth, International Opportunities, Emerging Markets Small Cap, Global Opportunities and Emerging India. (Overstretched, one wonders). The initial minimum purchase is $2000 for regular and IRA accounts, $1000 for accounts with AIPs and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. The expenses have not yet been set. There will be a 2% redemption fee on shares held fewer than 60 days.
