361 Long/Short Credit Fund
361 Long/Short Credit Fund will seek to provide positive absolute total returns over a complete market cycle. It’s pretty much an unconstrained global long/short bond fund. The fund will be managed by an as-yet unnamed outside sub-advisor. The initial expense ratio also has not yet been released. The minimum initial investment is $2,500.
Absolute Capital Asset Allocator Fund
Absolute Capital Asset Allocator Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to churn a portfolio of stocks, bonds, funds, CEFs, ETFs and ETNs between various asset classes. The fund will be managed by Phillip Brenden Gebben, cofounder of Absolute Capital. The initial expense ratio has not yet been announced. The minimum initial investment is $2,500.
Absolute Capital Defender Fund
Absolute Capital Defender Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to defensively churn a portfolio of stocks, bonds, funds, CEFs, ETFs and ETNs between various asset classes. The fund might go substantially to cash. The fund will be managed by Phillip Brenden Gebben, cofounder of Absolute Capital. The initial expense ratio has not yet been announced. The minimum initial investment is $2,500.
Champlain Emerging Markets Fund
Champlain Emerging Markets Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to invest in “growing but stable companies trading at attractive valuations” using a scoring metric that tries to control for behavioral bias. Champlain Advisors acquired New Sheridan Developing World Fund which, not to be cruel, had no assets, high expenses and mediocre performance. The fund will be managed by Russell and Richard Hoss, who managed New Sheridan for the last year of its existence. Both are Air Force Academy grads. The initial expense ratio, after expense waivers, will be 1.86% for Advisor shares. The minimum initial investment is $10,000, reduced to $3,000 for various tax-advantaged accounts.
Deutsche Limited Maturity Quality Income Fund
Deutsche Limited Maturity Quality Income Fund will seek current income consistent with the preservation of capital and liquidity. The plan is invest in both domestic and international high quality, short-term fixed-income instruments which are dollar denominated. They expect to maintain a duration of 90 days or less and will invest only in securities rating in one of the top two quality categories (AA and AAA). The fund will be managed by Geoffrey Gibbs, who is head of Deutsche’s Liquidity Management Group, and Lee Rodon and Glenn Koenig, both of whom work in the group. The initial expense ratio hasn’t been released. The minimum initial investment is $1,000. They expect to launch September 28.
Deutsche Ultra-Short Quality Income Fund
Deutsche Ultra-Short Quality Income Fund will seek a high level of current income consistent with the preservation of capital and liquidity. The plan is to invest at least 65% of the portfolio in securities rated in the top three quality categories. The remainder can be rated one tier lower. The fund will be managed by Geoffrey Gibbs, who is head of Deutsche’s Liquidity Management Group, and Lee Rodon and Glenn Koenig, both of whom work in the group. The initial expense ratio hasn’t been released. The minimum initial investment is $1,000. They expect to launch September 28.
Ivy Apollo Strategic Income Fund
Ivy Apollo Strategic Income Fund will seek a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The plan is to allocate 20% of the portfolio to Apollo Credit Management’s Total Return Strategy (a global value strategy encompassing U.S. corporate credit, global corporate credit, structured credit, and real estate) and flexibly allocate the remainder between Ivy’s Global Bond and High Income Strategies. The managers will be Mark Beischel and Chad Gunther from Ivy and James Zelter, President of Apollo. The initial expense ratio on “A” shares is 1.15%. The minimum initial investment is $750, which is waived for accounts set up with an automatic investment plan.
Ivy Apollo Multi-Asset Income Fund
Ivy Apollo Multi-Asset Income Fund will seek a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The plan is to allocate 20% of the portfolio to Apollo Credit Management’s Total Return Strategy (a global value strategy encompassing U.S. corporate credit, global corporate credit, structured credit, and real estate), 30% to Ivy High Income, 40% to Ivy Global Equity Income and 10% to LaSalle US’s Global Real Estate Strategy. The managers will be Mark Beischel and Chad Gunther from Ivy and James Zelter, President of Apollo. The initial expense ratio on “A” shares is 1.15%. The minimum initial investment is $750, which is waived for accounts set up with an automatic investment plan.
TCW/Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund
TCW/Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund (TFHIX/TFHVX) will seek long-term capital appreciation with lower volatility than a stand-alone stock portfolio. The plan is to buy undervalued mid- to large-cap stocks and sell index call options. The fund was previously RiverPark/Gargoyle Hedged Value (2012-15) and was a hedge fund before that (2005-2012). The fund will continue to be managed by Joshua B. Parker and Alan L. Salzbank of Gargoyle Investment Advisor. The initial expense ratio will be 1.50% for retail shares. The minimum initial investment is $5,000, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
TCW/Gargoyle Dynamic 500 Fund
TCW/Gargoyle Dynamic 500 Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation with reduced risk and lower volatility than the S&P 500 Index. The plan is to buy the S&P 500 portfolio but hedge it by selling “short-term slightly out-of-the-money SPX call options.” They’ll actively manage the options portfolio. The fund might have a net stock market exposure of 35-65%, with a neutral target of 50%. The fund will be managed by Joshua B. Parker and Alan L. Salzbank of Gargoyle Investment Advisor. The initial expense ratio has not been released. The minimum initial investment is $5,000, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
TCW/Gargoyle Systematic Value Fund
TCW/Gargoyle Systematic Value Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to buy, mostly, US mid- to large-cap stocks that the managers believe are undervalued. This is, at base, the long portfolio from the Hedged Value Fund and it has a very good long-term record. The fund will be managed by Joshua B. Parker and Alan L. Salzbank of Gargoyle Investment Advisor. The initial expense ratio has not been released. The minimum initial investment is $5,000, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
TCW High Dividend Equities Long/Short Fund
TCW High Dividend Equities Long/Short Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to invest, long and short, in high dividend securities. These might include everything from common stocks to MLPs, REITs, business development companies and ETFs. The fund will be managed by Iman H. Brivanlou of TCW. The initial expense ratio has not been released. The minimum initial investment is $5,000, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
TCW/Carlyle Liquid Tactical Fund
TCW/Carlyle Liquid Tactical Fund will seek “risk-adjusted long-term total return.”‘ The plan is to trade “liquid instruments” which invest equities, fixed income, credit, commodities, currencies and alternatives markets. The fund will be managed by a team from Carlyle Liquid Market Solutions. The initial expense ratio has not been released. The minimum initial investment is $5,000, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
TCW/Carlyle Trend Following Fund
TCW/Carlyle Trend Following Fund will also seek risk-adjusted long-term total return. At base, it’s a managed futures fund which will invest, long or short, in various asset classes based on whether they underlying price trend is positive or negative. In general, managed futures funds have performed poorly, averaging about 1.7% per year over the past five years while the best of them have made about 5%. The fund will be managed by a team from Carlyle Liquid Market Solutions. The initial expense ratio has not been released. The minimum initial investment is $5,000, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
TCW/Carlyle Absolute Return Fund
TCW/Carlyle Absolute Return Fund will seek (surprise!) risk-adjusted long-term total return. The plan is to allocate the portfolio between the other two TCW/Carlyle funds. The fund will be managed by a team from Carlyle Liquid Market Solutions. The initial expense ratio has not been released. The minimum initial investment is $5,000, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
USA Mutuals/WaveFront Hedged Emerging Markets Fund
USA Mutuals/WaveFront Hedged Emerging Markets Fund will seek consistent long-term capital appreciation with significantly less volatility compared to traditional emerging markets indices. The plan is to combine a frequently-traded long portfolio with an options overlay and the possibility of holding 20% in high quality, short-term debt. The fund is a converted version of a hedge fund run by Mark Adam from WaveFront Capital Management, L.P. The hedge fund made less than 0.8% in 2013 while the benchmark lost 0.1%, but in 2014 pocketed a 4.4% gain as the index dropped 3.0%.The initial expense ratio will be 1.75% for Investor class shares. The minimum initial investment is $2,000, reduced to $100 for various tax-advantaged accounts.
Van Eck Long/Short Equity Fund
Van Eck Long/Short Equity Fund will seek “consistent total returns while experiencing lower volatility” than most other long/short funds. The adviser has identified the investment characteristics of all long/short hedge funds that focus on North American stocks. They plan to invest, long and short, in ETFs and similar vehicles in order to replicate that universe. They will not use leverage. In an interesting twist, the fund “has not yet commenced operations” but Marc Freed and Ben McMillan have been managing it since 2013. The initial expense ratio has not been disclosed. The minimum initial investment for the loaded “A” shares is $1000 and is waived for accounts established with an automatic investment plan.
