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I've been using the SEC's EDGAR website recently but have noticed that, for many funds, the documents only go back to 2007 even if the fund is much older (example: Ariel Fund).
Is there a better site for seeing very old fund documents?
for many funds, the documents only go back to 2007 even if the fund is much older (example: Ariel Fund).
That's not entirely correct. You may not be able to find them, but generally the SEC has fund docs going back to 1994 or 1995, including Ariel Fund docs. Back then it was the Ariel Growth Fund.
for many funds, the documents only go back to 2007 even if the fund is much older (example: Ariel Fund).
That's not entirely correct. You may not be able to find them, but generally the SEC has fund docs going back to 1994 or 1995, including Ariel Fund docs. Back then it was the Ariel Growth Fund.
As much as I delight in old historical information, [Anyone want a copy of the 1979 S&P Stock Market Encyclopedia ? (Yes, '79, not '97)] for Mutual Fund performance anything older than 5 or 6 years is obsolete. Unless of course you are looking for something other than performance, e.g. holdings, management, auditors, transfer agents, repositories, etc...
Comments
Here's the folder with Ariel fund family filings. In any given folder, you'll want to open the NNNN-YY-NNNN-index.html file.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/798365
The only 1994 files are the annual and semi-annual reports in machine-readable format.
The 1995 prospectus for the Ariel (Growth) Fund and the Ariel Appreciation Fund (including the Oct 1, 1995 supplement reopening the Growth fund) is here:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/798365/0000950131-95-002729.txt
There's also the 1995 prospectus for the Ariel Premier Bond Fund (including the Nov 6, 1995 supplement allowing investors to buy into institutional class shares when they buy in at the ground floor):
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/798365/0000950131-95-002376.txt
What appears to be the earliest human-readable annual report (Sept 30, 1995) is here:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/798365/0000950131-95-003393.txt
Happy rummaging.
Good Luck on your quests.