Incidentally, here are the July 31, 2018 distribution estimates for the Acorn Funds:
https://www.columbiathreadneedleus.com/content/columbia/pdf/2018-YE-CAPITAL-GAIN-DISTRIBUTIONS.PDF

@BenWP,
While funds do make distributions either quarterly of semi-annually, you conveyed my point that this year will probably see significant distributions due the stock market gains of the last couple of years as well as what @msf pointed out above, new portfolio management has resulted in the cleaning-house of many long/short term holdings resulting in significant realizations of stock gains.

@The Shadow: What I'd like to see is for you to be the only one with the ability to link funds capital gains to the message board. Members would report distributions by sending them to your inbox and your would put them in fund company alphabetical order.
Regards,
Ted

@MFO Members: TheShadow maintains a simple list of links to capital gains information, which can be found on our discussion forum. Lets let him do his thing, and not randomly link fund distributions all over the place. As a resource The Shadow uses Mark Wilson's cap gains valet which will be available in October.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.capgainsvalet.com/

These are not very early estimates of the annual distributions, but of Sept. distributions. Some Fidelity funds typically distribute gains in Sept and again in December.
It seems that in addition to HAINX, we have a couple more examples of what can happen when a new manager (even from the same management company) takes over a fund and turns its portfolio upside down. (I thought Fidelity was trying to get away from that.)
FDGFX - 14.75% distribution - M* writes "Gordon Scott officially took over in January 2018"
FCPVX - 18.82% distribution - M* writes: "The fund has undergone two manager transitions in recent years."

"the prosperity was strongly skewed in favor of the earnings of business and the incomes of the rich. In consequence, continued prosperity depended on continuing high investment expenditures by business, continuing high consumer expenditures by the affluent.
As share volumes came rushing down, prudence in all investment decisions rose as a reciprocal. Solid enterprises began to reconsider their investment commitments. Banks were suddenly cautious. Borrowers had been caught in the market. Better to have plenty of cash. And individual investors, their fingers badly scorched, were also poor prospects for the new issues of securities.
The blight on consumer expenditures was equally severe. Those who had been spending capital gains no longer had them. Many not directly affected thought it prudent to behave as though they had been."
John Kenneth Galbraith: Money, Whence It Came, Where It Went
(Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1975, pg 184).
[Lightly edited for brevity and to accent relevance to the present time.]

To me that proposed order is just another way for those who already have way more than they need to shelter even more of their gains from the undeserving masses. As if offshore accounts and slimy accounting weren't enough.

I wasn’t soliciting advice. Just sharing something that hasn’t worked. Hope there’s room in the thread for some of those types of submissions as well. (The “hope is not a plan” was meant in jest. Nobody needs to tell me that.)
If somebody wants to start a thread on only what funds have been rising lately, that’s possible. (I think @Catch22 has in the past posted a very detailed chart which shows the hottest sectors.)
I’ve never been a momentum investor. That’s not to take away from those who subscribe to it. I do have a plan suitable for someone of my age, temperament, situation, and life expectancy. Intend to stay with the plan that’s served me well over the years.
-
* What I will suggest here, however, that the experience I shared might point to very narrow (maybe even narrowing) market breadth. Is it possible that only a few hot sectors are driving those gains in the major indexes?

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1494928/000139834418013039/fp0035706_497.htm
SUPPLEMENT TO SUMMARY PROSPECTUS, PROSPECTUS AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DATED JANUARY 25, 2018
On August 30, 2018, the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of RiverPark Funds Trust approved a Plan of Liquidation for the RiverPark Focused Value Fund (the “Fund”) pursuant to which the Fund will be liquidated on or about September 28, 2018 (the “Liquidation Date”). In approving the liquidation, the Board determined that the liquidation of the Fund is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. To arrive at this decision, the Board considered factors that have adversely affected, and will continue to affect adversely, the ability of the Fund to conduct its business and operations in an economically viable manner, including factors such as low asset levels and limited future prospects for growth.
Accordingly, the Adviser may begin positioning the portfolio of the Fund for liquidation, which may cause the Fund to deviate from its stated investment objective and strategies. It is anticipated that the Fund's portfolio will be positioned into cash on or some time prior to the Liquidation Date.
Effective as of the close of business on September 10, 2018, the Fund will be closed to new investors and investments by existing shareholders.
Any shares outstanding at the close of business on the Liquidation Date will be automatically redeemed. Such redemption shall follow the procedures set forth in the Fund's Plan of Liquidation. Final dividends will be paid in advance of the Liquidation Date. Any capital gains will be distributed to shareholders, if necessary, prior to the Liquidation Date.
Any time prior to the Liquidation Date, the shareholders of the Fund may redeem their shares of the Fund pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Fund's Prospectus. Shareholders may also exchange their shares of the Fund into shares of the same class of another RiverPark fund if the shareholder meets the eligibility criteria and investment minimum for such fund.
Any income or capital gains distributed to shareholders prior to the Liquidation Date or as part of the liquidation proceeds will be subject to tax. All investors should consult with their tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of this liquidation.

You got it. It sounds like you want to exit. If you are going to exit, selling before distribution is better.
Either way, your gross income will be the same (except for potential appreciation/loss while waiting to sell). But in terms of tax you're better off selling now.
Sell now, and virtually all your income will be long term capital gains (except for any shares purchased within the last year, and those probably lost value).
Wait for distributions, and a small amount of the distribution may be ordinary income (vs. long term cap gains or qualified divs).
No other real difference. Sounds like you want to get out. So get out now, while the getting is good. :-)

So as long as someone is honest about why they lost your money you're okay with it?

@JoJo26, yes I am ok with it because his long term tract record at Matthews and Seafarer warrant that. Do I think a fund manager isn't going to make a miscalculated stock choice? Find me one that doesn't have a miscue. They all do.
Your opinion on bloated assets is valid I suppose, but nothing substantial behind that opinion. Just a stab in the dark I'd say.

>> His philosophy should protect capital in down markets

Try going to the Seafarer website. This is explained in a video interview also. A manager who won't admit his mistakes is the one I am not ok with...

Clearly. Trying to imagine why you would charge such a thing. Guess you have not studied in detail its changing fortunes the last few years. 5.5y ago DS mentioned its defensive stance to an extent (http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2013/03/seafarer-overseas-growth-income-sfgix/) but not more recently (https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2015/05/seafarer-overseas-growth-income-sfgixsigix-may-2015/). See also its M* star changes over time.
In any case it invests in EM; who would think "philosophy should protect capital in down markets" of any such vehicle?
It is fascinating to me to read that investments which do not pan out, or not quickly enough, are somehow the result of defocusing, as though effort and will and hard thinking and other notionally causal behaviors can and will preclude outcomes like @MikeM quoted. That's why I wondered if he doubled down on those overreacted-to stocks.
I have been reading Foster for years, back to Matthews, interesting guy. But some months, and longer, the bear eats you.

>> His philosophy should protect capital in down markets
it does say growth in the name
I wonder if he bought more of those three companies.

And the name matters because.....
You clearly are not educated on the Seafarer approach.

>> His philosophy should protect capital in down markets
it does say growth in the name
I wonder if he bought more of those three companies.

@msf
Thanks for feedback. If i sell now do you know if I'll still get hit with the cap gains distributions they'll do later in year? That would be a double whammy of my cap gains plus the distributions from the fund

Nope - it's an either or. You realize gains on your own shares when you sell, or you hold and get hit with their distributions. Only way you get a double whammy is if you sell after the distribution. But even then, your sell price has dropped because of the distribution, so you don't see more income by selling just after instead of just before a distribution.
If you sell now and others don't, the AUM of the fund declines, and they get hit with even higher distributions. That $9B in gains is distributed among fewer owners (i.e. fewer shares).
(Each time I edit, I keep on thinking of more to write; let me know if a hypothetical numeric example would help.)

Harbor is saying that it will realize all gains in the portfolio this year. If all gains are realized, any attempt to optimize by selling lowest gain shares first would be pointless.
Still, I agree that the vast majority if not all of the net cap gains realized will be long term. That's for a few reasons:
- Very low turnover (13%), so on average, investments have been held for 4 years. Think of a portfolio filled with investments held 8 years then sold; half will be under 4 years old at the moment, half more. In any case, very few holdings owned for under a year.
- Net losses this year; YTD performance -2.73%. So holdings purchased this year may easily have dropped in value; at least enough so that short term losses should wipe out any short term gains.
- New management building a new portfolio - it's very unlikely that the new management is buying securities now just to dump within the fiscal year. They're not about to generate additional short term gains with their own purchases.
Here's the source for M*'s estimated 38% distribution.
https://www.harborfunds.com/HIF_manager_change_QA.htm#7
It's worth keeping in mind the dollar amount of the expected distribution, more so than the percentage. Harbor estimates that $9B will be distributed in cap gains: $4.5B already recognized, and nearly all of the $4.5B unrealized gains are expected to be realized.
The current AUM of the fund is $20.8B, so that comes out to 9/20.8 = 43%. (This is just slightly higher than the 41% one gets by taking Harbor's high end distribution of $27 and dividing by the current NAV of $64.94.)
So watch that AUM. As it drops (people sell), the $9B won't change, but the denominator will get smaller and smaller.

Ive held the fund for 24 years so lots of cap gains

@msf
Thanks for feedback. If i sell now do you know if I'll still get hit with the cap gains distributions they'll do later in year? That would be a double whammy of my cap gains plus the distributions from the fund

It seems the capital gains will be long term, so that would be the best type of gains to have for tax purposes. However, funds are not required to distribute in the most tax-favorable manner.
I used to own the fund until it became a stinker. I think this was a fund that gave off “sell” signals a long time ago. I wish all my sales had been so prescient.