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I am a ZEO shareholder and have never paid a transaction fee. I don't use a broker. My wife invested in RPHYX a few years ago. We think of ZEOIX and RPHYX in a similar way: it's a "better mattress". I've been with ZEO a few years and I have gone directly to the transfer agent. Zeo uses Gemini in Omaha. Simple paperwork. No fee. ZEOIX shares are in a non-retirement account. Next week I'll have an IRA account in ZSRIX. If you want a ZEO fund in a 401k I suppose it might be harder to avoid a broker.
I'm going to guess that you're talking about buying the Zeo funds at Fidelity or Schwab, where the transaction fee to buy a fund is $49.95. Elsewhere it ranges from $0 (direct investment or Vanguard (Flagship level only), to midlevel, e.g. Interactive Brokers ($14.95) and Vanguard ($20), to the $50 range (TDAmeritrade charges $49.99, not $49.95).
While it is true that Schwab and Fidelity charge $49.95 to establish a position (which you could also do by buying direct and then transferring shares to the brokerage), they charge nothing to sell. Also, Fidelity lets you buy additional shares for $5/purchase if you use their automated investment service. If you're using the brokerage for stashing cash for several months, that may be a reasonable price for the convenience. If you're dollar cost averaging say, $2K or less per month, at Schwab you can spread that out as $99 daily purchases and pay no fee. (Schwab doesn't charge for purchases of under $100).
As to why Zeo doesn't make its funds available NTF, here's a typical disclosure from Fidelity:
For funds participating in the NTF program, Fidelity receives compensation that can typically range from 0 to 50 basis points based on the average daily balance. As of 12/31/2011, 96% of the mutual funds currently in the NTF program are in the 35–40 basis point range.
When the brokerage services the account, the distributor saves some money, but nowhere near 40 basis points. ZEOIX spends a total of 27 basis points on "other expenses", and much of that would remain after outsourcing the servicing to Fidelity. They could cover the extra, say, 30 basis points by adding a 0.25% 12b-1 fee and charging that to everyone, including those who were buying the fund direct from the transfer agent.
RPHYX seems to have a unique strategy, but if you don't already hold a position, it's closed. And as you observed, ZEOIX is a TF fund. If you're willing to go slightly longer with duration (still under 1 year) and consequently slightly higher volatility (thus somewhat at odds with the idea of a fund that shouldn't lose for more than a month or so), you might take a look at SSTHX. Load waived and NTF at Schwab and Fidelity, somewhat lower ER than the other funds. My guess is that the 1* rating (vs. the 2* for the other funds) is due to the slightly higher volatility.
The Fund is currently available for sale on a limited basis. The following groups will be permitted to purchase Fund shares:
1.Shareholders of record of the Fund as of April 5, 2017 (although if a shareholder closes all accounts in the Fund, additional investment in the Fund from that shareholder may not be accepted) may continue to purchase additional shares in their existing Fund accounts either directly from the Fund or through a financial intermediary and may continue to reinvest dividends or capital gains distributions from shares owned in the Fund;
2.New shareholders may open Fund accounts and purchase directly from the Fund (i.e. not through a financial intermediary); and
3.Members of the Board of Trustees of RiverPark Funds Trust, persons affiliated with RiverPark Advisors, LLC or Cohanzick Management, LLC and their immediate families will be able to purchase shares of the Fund and establish new accounts.
The Fund may from time to time, in its sole discretion, limit the types of investors permitted to open new accounts, limit new purchases or otherwise modify the above policy at any time on a case-by-case basis.
I do not want to discourage/disappoint prospective investors who want to invest in the fund.
Also, you may want to look at Crossingbridge Funds. They have a similar type of fund, CrossingBridge Low Duration High Yield Fund. Investor class is available for $2,500 initial investment. The Fund is managed by Portfolio Managers, David Sherman and Michael De Kler.
From the Crossingbridge Funds website for the Low Duration High Yield Fund:
The strategy focuses on purchasing high yield debt with an expected effective maturity of 3 years or less and a weighted average investment horizon of 0.75-2 years. Our goal is to limit credit risk and interest rate risk.
Thanks guys. I had big positions in RPHYX until the fed raising cycle started in earnest. When you could get no risk 2.5%, it just didn't make sense to go for a risky 2.75-3.25%. I left a couple of stub positions so that I could contribute when the time comes.
Now that the fed may be on the verge of reversing course, RPHYX strategies may make sense again.
My apologies. Normally I take note of funds that are still open via direct purchase (e.g. VWELX), but I completely missed this one. I can't even make the excuse that, well, it had been completely closed but subsequently partially reopened. The policy @TheShadow quoted has been in effect since the first day (April 5, 2017) that it partially closed.
RPHYX is definitely open if you are willing to go through the transfer agent (i.e. buy directly from the fund).
Edit: Regarding CBLDX - interesting way to get access to the same lead manager as RPHYX in another short term high yield fund. (Crossingbridge is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cohanzick Management, which manages RPHYX.)
From its prospectus, it doesn't appear to be using the same approach as RPHYX (e.g. buying orphaned securities). Though from its very short average maturity (3/8 years), it's hard to imagine what else it could be holding. It seems to have taken on more credit risk than RPHYX (M* saying its average credit rating is B, vs. BB for RPHYX), while going even shorter than RPHYX. https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2012/01/riverpark-short-term-high-yield-fund-rphyx-july-2011/
As with Zeo, CBLDX is not available NTF. Also, it seems to require a $250K min (there's a ticker for investor class shares, but the prospectus says this isn't offered for sale). If you're going that high, you might look at RPHIX ($100K min).
I stand corrected; I should have said that it was not exactly the same, but has the same manager as RPHYX and similar investment philosophy.
I found the summary prospectus from the Crossingbridge Funds website. Institutional class is $250k; individual class is $2,500. Have not been able to find the regular individual class application on their website.
Comments
http://www.zeo.com/documents/Latest/ZEOIX.Platforms.pdf
Schwab and Fidelity charge $49.95.
While it is true that Schwab and Fidelity charge $49.95 to establish a position (which you could also do by buying direct and then transferring shares to the brokerage), they charge nothing to sell. Also, Fidelity lets you buy additional shares for $5/purchase if you use their automated investment service. If you're using the brokerage for stashing cash for several months, that may be a reasonable price for the convenience. If you're dollar cost averaging say, $2K or less per month, at Schwab you can spread that out as $99 daily purchases and pay no fee. (Schwab doesn't charge for purchases of under $100).
As to why Zeo doesn't make its funds available NTF, here's a typical disclosure from Fidelity: When the brokerage services the account, the distributor saves some money, but nowhere near 40 basis points. ZEOIX spends a total of 27 basis points on "other expenses", and much of that would remain after outsourcing the servicing to Fidelity. They could cover the extra, say, 30 basis points by adding a 0.25% 12b-1 fee and charging that to everyone, including those who were buying the fund direct from the transfer agent.
RPHYX seems to have a unique strategy, but if you don't already hold a position, it's closed. And as you observed, ZEOIX is a TF fund. If you're willing to go slightly longer with duration (still under 1 year) and consequently slightly higher volatility (thus somewhat at odds with the idea of a fund that shouldn't lose for more than a month or so), you might take a look at SSTHX. Load waived and NTF at Schwab and Fidelity, somewhat lower ER than the other funds. My guess is that the 1* rating (vs. the 2* for the other funds) is due to the slightly higher volatility.
From the 1/28/19 summary prospectus,
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1494928/000139834419001751/fp0038745_497k.htm
The Fund is currently available for sale on a limited basis. The following groups will be permitted to purchase Fund shares:
1.Shareholders of record of the Fund as of April 5, 2017 (although if a shareholder closes all accounts in the Fund, additional investment in the Fund from that shareholder may not be accepted) may continue to purchase additional shares in their existing Fund accounts either directly from the Fund or through a financial intermediary and may continue to reinvest dividends or capital gains distributions from shares owned in the Fund;
2.New shareholders may open Fund accounts and purchase directly from the Fund (i.e. not through a financial intermediary); and
3.Members of the Board of Trustees of RiverPark Funds Trust, persons affiliated with RiverPark Advisors, LLC or Cohanzick Management, LLC and their immediate families will be able to purchase shares of the Fund and establish new accounts.
The Fund may from time to time, in its sole discretion, limit the types of investors permitted to open new accounts, limit new purchases or otherwise modify the above policy at any time on a case-by-case basis.
I do not want to discourage/disappoint prospective investors who want to invest in the fund.
Also, you may want to look at Crossingbridge Funds. They have a similar type of fund,
CrossingBridge Low Duration High Yield Fund. Investor class is available for $2,500 initial investment. The Fund is managed by Portfolio Managers, David Sherman and Michael De Kler.
From the Crossingbridge Funds website for the Low Duration High Yield Fund:
The strategy focuses on purchasing high yield debt with an expected effective maturity of 3 years or less and a weighted average investment horizon of 0.75-2 years. Our goal is to limit credit risk and interest rate risk.
Now that the fed may be on the verge of reversing course, RPHYX strategies may make sense again.
RPHYX is definitely open if you are willing to go through the transfer agent (i.e. buy directly from the fund).
Edit: Regarding CBLDX - interesting way to get access to the same lead manager as RPHYX in another short term high yield fund. (Crossingbridge is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cohanzick Management, which manages RPHYX.)
From its prospectus, it doesn't appear to be using the same approach as RPHYX (e.g. buying orphaned securities). Though from its very short average maturity (3/8 years), it's hard to imagine what else it could be holding. It seems to have taken on more credit risk than RPHYX (M* saying its average credit rating is B, vs. BB for RPHYX), while going even shorter than RPHYX.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2012/01/riverpark-short-term-high-yield-fund-rphyx-july-2011/
As with Zeo, CBLDX is not available NTF. Also, it seems to require a $250K min (there's a ticker for investor class shares, but the prospectus says this isn't offered for sale). If you're going that high, you might look at RPHIX ($100K min).
I stand corrected; I should have said that it was not exactly the same, but has the same manager as RPHYX and similar investment philosophy.
I found the summary prospectus from the Crossingbridge Funds website. Institutional class is $250k; individual class is $2,500. Have not been able to find the regular individual class application on their website.
https://www.crossingbridgefunds.com/assets/fund/CrossingBridge_SummaryProspectus.pdf
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2018/02/launch-alert-crossingbridge-low-duration-high-yield-cbldx/