AR Capital BDC Income Fund
AR Capital BDC Income Fund will pursue a high level of income, with the potential for capital appreciation. The plan is to invest in the common and preferred stock or warrants of business development companies that, in its view, are paying attractive rates of distribution and appear capable of sustaining that distribution level over time. The fund will be managed by unnamed individuals affiliated with BDCA Adviser, LLC . The minimum initial investment will be $2500 and the initial expense ratio has not yet been released. There are Advisor shares but also curiously-priced “A” shares: they intend to charge 1.5% up front and a deferred charge of 1% if you’re redeeming a million or more at a time.
AR Capital Dividend and Value Fund
AR Capital Dividend and Value Fund, Advisor Share class, will pursue is to provide a high level of dividend income, with the potential for capital appreciation.. The plan is to invest in dividend-paying stocks, potentially including master limited partnerships and REITs. Up to 15% of the fund might be in illiquid securities. The fund will be managed by Brad Stanley and Mark Painter, portfolio managers at Carnegie Asset Management. (The managers both graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University, in Pittsburgh.) The guys run about $168 million in this strategy and have modestly trailed the S&P500 since inception in early 2010). The minimum initial investment will be $2500 for financial intermediaries, $100,000 for other scoundrels trying to purchase directly from the firm and the initial expense ratio has not yet been announced.
Artisan High Income Fund
Artisan High Income Fund will pursue total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The plan is to invest primarily in the high-yield bonds and loans of “issuers with high quality business models that have compelling risk-adjusted return characteristics.” The fund will be managed by Bryan C. Krug who was a fixed income portfolio manager at Waddell & Reed Investment who ran the $10 billion, five star Ivy High Income Fund (WHIYX) for the past seven years. He’s empowered to create his own independent team within Artisan. The minimum initial investment will be $1000 for Investor shares and $250,000 for Advisor shares, but Artisan will waive the Investor minimum if you set up an account with an AIP. The initial expense ratio will be 1.25% for both Investor and Advisor shares.
Brown Advisory Japan Alpha Opportunities Fund
Brown Advisory Japan Alpha Opportunities Fund will pursue total return by investing principally in equity securities of companies which are domiciled in or exercise the predominant part of their economic activity in Japan. They intend to construct a series of “sleeves,” each with its own distinct risk profile but they don’t explain what they might be. They may invest in common and preferred stock, futures, convertibles, options, ADRs and GDR, REITs and ETFs. While they advertise an all-cap portfolio, they do flag small cap and EM risks. The fund will be managed by a team from Wellington Management. The minimum initial investment will be $5000, reduced to $1000 for IRAs and $250 for accounts set up with an AIP. The initial expense ratio will be 1.36%. The fund will launch in March 2014.
Catalyst Macro Strategy Fund
Catalyst Macro Strategy Fund, I shares, will pursue capital appreciation with positive returns in all market conditions. The plan is to invest in securities (foreign or domestic, equity or debt, long or short) which offer “a high probability of return or, alternatively, that provides a high degree of safety during uncertain market conditions.” There is no evidence in the prospectus which demonstrates the probability that the managers will hit that lofty mark. The fund will be managed Al Procaccino, II, President, and Korey Bauer, Vice President, Analyst and Market Technician of Castle Financial & Retirement Planning Associates. The minimum initial investment in all share classes of the Fund is $2,500 for regular and IRA accounts, and $100 for an automatic investment plan account. The initial expense ratio will be 1.75%.
Kalmar “Growth-with-Value” Small/Mid Cap Fund
Kalmar “Growth-with-Value” Small/Mid Cap Fund will pursue long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to buy and hold high quality smaller companies (those with market caps between $1 – 10 billion) when their stock can be acquired for a value price. The fund will be managed by Ford Draper and Dana Walker. The same team has done a nice job with the strategy in their small cap fund (KGSCX) which now has nearly $900 million and a four-star rating. This might serve as a tool for diverting cash flows from that still-open fund. The minimum initial investment will be $2500 and the initial expense ratio will be 1.40%.
Loeb King Asia Fund
Loeb King Asia Fund will pursue “attractive risk adjusted returns in the Asian capital markets.” The plan is to invest “long or short in value-oriented and/or event-driven equity securities in Asian countries, including countries that may be considered emerging markets.” They also have the option of hedging the portfolio against macro events. The fund will be managed by Blaine Marder of Carl M. Loeb Advisory Partners L.P., also known as Loeb King Capital Management. This fund is a converted hedge fund, which Mr. Marder has managed since 2008. The hedge fund offered substantial downside protection (it dropped 0.25% in 2011 when most Asia funds were down by double-digits) but still managed to return 18% through the first three quarters of 2013. The minimum initial investment will be $10,000, reduced to $2500 for IRAs, but the initial expense ratio has not yet been announced.
Miller Income Opportunity Trust
Miller Income Opportunity Trust will pursue “a high level of income while maintaining the potential for growth.” The plan is to invest in let Bill Miller and his son invest in anything they want, with a focus on things which produce income. The prospectus reads like an overpriced version of FPA Crescent (FPACX). The fund will be managed by Bill Miller and Bill Miller IV. It’s a Legg Mason fund, so there is a slug of share classes. The minimum initial investment will be $1000 or a million and the initial expense ratio will be between 1 – 2%, depending on class. The whole enterprise leaves me feeling a little queasy since it looks either like Miller’s late-career attempt to prove that he’s not a dinosaur or Legg’s post-divorce sop to him.
Navigator Fixed Income Total Return Fund
Navigator Fixed Income Total Return Fund, I Shares, will pursue “excess alpha over a full market cycle measured against the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield Index and the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index” by investing, long and short, in fixed income securities. The fund will be managed by a team from Clark Capital Management, including its founder. The minimum initial investment will be $5000 but the initial expense ratio has not been announced.
NWM Momentum Fund
NWM Momentum Fund will pursue long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to invest in a variety of exchange-traded products using their “risk on / risk off proprietary screening model.” The fund will be managed by Momentum Fund Group. The minimum initial investment will be $5000, reduced to $1000 if you somehow conclude this is a good idea for your retirement account or if you establish an AIP account. The initial expense ratio will be 1.65%.
Parametric Dividend Income Fund
Parametric Dividend Income Fund will pursue total return and current income. (Curious, “total return” usually subsumes the notion “current income” ‘cause that’s what “total” means.) The plan is to invest in a diversified portfolio of quality companies that have historically demonstrated high current income and lower levels of stock price volatility on a sector relative basis. The fund will be managed by Thomas Seto and David Stein of Parametric, on behalf of Eaton Vance. They’re run a tiny account using this strategy for less than a year and it has modestly trailed the market. No word on its income production. The minimum initial investment will be $1000 and the initial expense ratio will be 0.95%.
Pax World International ESG Index Fund
Pax World International ESG Index Fund will come online soon to absorb the assets of two existing Pax funds, Pax World International (PXINX) and Pax MSCI EAFE ESG Index ETF (EAPS). Details are maddeningly scarce but the ETF has about $57 million in assets and charges 0.55%, and Pax generally has a $1,000 minimum on their funds.
Perritt Low Priced Stock Fund
Perritt Low Priced Stock Fund will pursue long-term capital appreciation by investing in small cap stocks priced at $15 or less. The fund will be managed by Michael Corbett and Brian Gillespie. Mr. Corbett also runs Perritt Microcap (PRCGX) and Ultra MicroCap (PREOX), both of which are very solid funds with good risk profiles. The minimum initial investment will be $1000, reduced to $250 for all sorts of good reasons, and the initial expense ratio will be 1.5%. It feels a lot like a good fund about to be handicapped by a marketing gimmick.
Riverside Frontier Markets Fund
Riverside Frontier Markets Fund will pursue capital appreciation, mostly. The plan is to “use proprietary algorithms and models employing a ‘top-down’ analysis of global equity markets and economic conditions, ‘bottom-up’ analysis of individual securities, momentum and market factors and any other methods determined to be appropriate.” The fund will be managed by Ana Kolar of Riverside Advisors. The minimum initial investment will be $2500, reduced to $2000 for IRAs; the initial expense ratio has not been disclosed.
SkyBridge Dividend Value Fund
SkyBridge Dividend Value Fund, I Shares, will pursue total return by investing in dividend-producing securities. They’ll typically hold 20-40 stocks, equally-weighted at the time of purchase. “The first ten stocks will represent the ten highest yielding stocks within the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The other stocks will be selected from across the market capitalization spectrum, generally excluding financial and utility stocks.” The fund will be managed by Brendan Voege, formerly of SunAmerica, but he will do do “under the supervision of SkyBridge Chief Investment Officer Raymond Nolte.” The minimum initial investment will be $1000 and the initial expense ratio will be $1000.
