Grandeur Peak Global Reach (GPROX) is closing to new investors

David_Snowball

Just got the notice from Grandeur Peak. The lead paragraphs read:

We are announcing today that the Grandeur Peak Global Reach Fund (GPROX/GPRIX) will close to new investors on April 30, 2014. The Fund will remain open to existing investors, but will no longer accept new shareholders after April 30th. Retirement plans and financial advisors with existing clients in the Fund will still be able to invest in the Fund for existing as well as new clients as long as their clearing platform will allow this exception.

The Global Reach Fund currently has $101M under management. As you know, we consider capacity at the firm level as well as the Fund level. Across Grandeur Peak we now have over $2.1B under management. We have talked from the founding of the firm about restricting our total assets invested in global small/micro-cap stocks to around $3B. We are soft closing the Global Reach Fund earlier than originally planned to allow continued access for existing shareholders while also preserving capacity for the remaining global small/micro-cap funds we intend to launch over the coming years.

I'd look seriously at the fund. GPROX was intended to be the firm's flagship fund; the broadest portfolio offering exposure to all of their best ideas. All of the others (three currently active, three planned) would be just subsets of the Global Reach strategy. The S&P Index vs Active calculations are painfully consistent: international small cap is the only category were active managers consistently outperform passive. The managers have a great performance record and have already closed three of their four funds to new investors. None of the funds yet has a three-year record, though Mr. Gardiner has about a 30 year record to work from. These are certainly not low-priced funds but investors seem to have been getting ample value for the money they're paying.

Here's our profile from July 2013: Grandeur Peak Global Reach.

For what interest it holds,

David

TheShadow

You beat me to it.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915802/000091580214000011/globalreachfundsoftclose0416.htm

497 1 globalreachfundsoftclose0416.htm FINANCIAL INVESTORS TRUST

Grandeur Peak Global Reach Fund

(the “Fund”)


SUPPLEMENT DATED APRIL 16, 2014 TO THE FUND’S PROSPECTUS DATED MAY 1, 2013, AS SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME


This Supplement updates certain information contained in the Prospectus for the Fund dated May 1, 2013, as supplemented from time to time. You should retain this Supplement and the Prospectus for future reference. Additional copies of the Prospectus may be obtained free of charge by visiting our web site at www.grandeurpeakglobal.com or calling us at 1.855.377.PEAK (7325).

Effective as of the close of business on April 30, 2014, the Fund will close to new investors, except as described below:


·A financial advisor whose clients have established accounts in the Fund as of April 30, 2014 may continue to open new accounts in the Fund for any of its existing or new clients, as long as their clearing platform will allow this exception.


·Existing or new participants in a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan, profit sharing plan, 403(b) plan or 457 plan, which has an existing position in the Fund as of April 30, 2014, may continue to open new accounts in the Fund. In addition, if such qualified retirement plans have a related retirement plan formed in the future, this plan may also open new accounts in the Fund, as long as their clearing platform will allow this exception.


This change will affect new investors seeking to purchase shares of the Fund either directly or through third party intermediaries. Existing shareholders of the Fund may continue to purchase additional shares of the Fund.


As described in the Prospectus, the Fund’s investment adviser, Grandeur Peak Global Advisors, LLC, retains the right to make exceptions to any action taken to close the Fund or limit inflows into the Fund.


INVESTORS SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Kaspa

Bought a little with the plan to slowly migrate over from WAGOX.

PRESSmUP

I have got to think that the founders of GP are justifiably proud of their achievements...and their shareholders are also pretty much happy as a clam too. What a nice achievement for both. Me included.

And, kudos to Mr. Snowball for introducing the MFO readers to this opportunity. I wonder when that other somewhat popular mutual fund website will initiate their first detailed review of Grandeur Peak and their funds (now all soon to be closed).

Charles

Hear, hear!

rmt

GP says that if you already have AIP setup,you can continue to invest in hard closed funds.But due to my broker restrictions.i am unable to add to GPGOX.Also happy with my starter position in GPEOX.

jlev

comment moved to another thread.

claimui

Should be noted that Grandeur Peak's expense ratios, while high, are lower than the comparable offerings from Wasatch. I don't think there are any real bargains for this asset class.

eeisenstein

While GPROX will be soft closed at the end of the month, I have a question in anticipation of an eventual hard close of GPROX. Does anyone know if Schwab retail investors who held GPGOX and GPIOX in regular accounts (ie non-IRA) were allowed to continue investing through previously set up AIP plans after the hard close of these two funds? I asked Schwab this question, but did not get a clear enough answer. Thank you.

InformalEconomist

This question is being pursued on an M* forum:
http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/forums/p/337599/3534999.aspx#3534999
So far, no on Fidelity platform, no on Scottrade, yes on TRP. Note, some of these are untested responses. That is, to continue investing after closed to new accounts (unspecified as to AIP or other). AFAIK, "hard close" means no additional investments from anyone. So the platform and method wouldn't matter.

David_Snowball

For what interest it holds, I forwarded the query to Grandeur Peak's president. I'll let you know what I hear back.

David

AndyJ

As discussed previously here, the 'hard close' on GPGOX and GPIOX has two exceptions, as explained in this footnote on the main page for each fund:

"Closed to all investors, except existing investors with an established automatic investment plan and/or an established position in a retirement account."

A couple of the comments on M* specifically refer to retirement accounts - the Fido "no" comment being one of those. I'm curious why some brokerages allow purchases of these funds under circumstances listed as okay by GP, while others don't.

LLJB

PRESSmUP said:

I have got to think that the founders of GP are justifiably proud of their achievements...and their shareholders are also pretty much happy as a clam too. What a nice achievement for both. Me included.

And, kudos to Mr. Snowball for introducing the MFO readers to this opportunity. I wonder when that other somewhat popular mutual fund website will initiate their first detailed review of Grandeur Peak and their funds (now all soon to be closed).

I've written emails to that other somewhat popular mutual fund website asking them to cover these funds multiple times without even so much as an automated response. And I didn't write to their generic "request coverage of a fund" email, I wrote to people who wrote articles about the funds or those I presume are their successors. Luckily I found MFO thanks to Mr. Snowball's write-up about Grandeur Peak and I thank you for the information that got me into both GPIOX and GPEOX. I'm eagerly awaiting more funds and I also wrote to GP's president asking them to consider a frontier markets fund and the response, while very nice, didn't make it sound likely.

PRESSmUP

LLJB... I have discovered that the "other somewhat popular website" is a reasonably good source of raw data, but a rather mundane source of opinion and advice. Frankly, I am more than pleased that there is limited (or no) coverage of the many funds that are discussed within MFO. But...I've noticed more and more comment on that other site referencing MFO.

I do pay that other site for this raw data, but am reconsidering this decision. I do though, like the author of the dividend site...Josh Peters.

Here's a good link recently posed by Chip...simply remarkable.

http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/search-tools/