@Ted It's not volatility that is my concern with concentrated funds, but individual business risk, i.e., the risk of the permanent impairment of capital with a position in Sequoia's case that grew to 29% of the fund. That's not about volatility. The risk of some form of bankruptcy or permanent loss of any individual position is far greater with a concentrated fund. But my story also addresses the other risk--of being over-diversified. The question then becomes is it possible to find a low-risk concentrated fund investing in high quality companies with less individual business risk because they have things like low debt, strong franchises, economic moats, diversified business lines, etc.? That is the basis for this story.

Fiduciary Management, Inc. » FMI Mutual Funds » FMI Large Cap Fund (FMIHX) » FMIHX Distribution Summary
FMIHX Distribution Summary
Ex-Dividend Date
Reinvestment Price
Income
Short-Term Capital Gain
Long-Term Capital Gain
12/18/15 18.23 0.20835660 0.16523 1.67694

Will Goldman Be Right After All?
Oil Price
FREE
WEEKLY REPORT
18/12/2015
Some corners of the energy world dismissed Goldman Sachs’ prediction earlier this year that crude oil prices might fall below $30 per barrel. But no longer. The investment bank reiterated http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Goldman-says-only-20-oil-can-guarantee-market-6706218.php?t=90ec76519e438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premiumits belief that oil prices may need to fall to $20 per barrel in order to force a significant volume of supply off the market, and such a scenario is no longer seen as a remote possibility. U.S. oil production has only declined moderately thus far, down about 300,000-500,000 barrels per day since peaking at 9.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) in April 2015. But with so many drillers barely hanging on, everyone is still pumping as much oil as possible in order to keep the lights on, delaying the inevitable adjustment in supply. “This rebalancing is far from achieved,” Goldman concluded this week.
For now, the world is still producing somewhere around 1.5 mb/d more than it needs. Capital markets have shunned some of the most indebted drillers, but access to finance remains open for investment-grade oil drillers. In this context, unless oil prices drop another $10 to $15 per barrel, Goldman says, the necessary contraction may not take place quick enough.
http://oilprice.com/newsletters/free/opintel18122015
KENNYPOLCARI
8:21 AM 12/18/15
And the Headlines Say it All!
“Europe continues to struggle, China is slowing, Hi Yield is imploding, Oil is crashing, earnings are being cut, housing is still under pressure, job growth is suspect, manufacturing suggests that we are (already) in a recession, and this bull mkt is long in the tooth…… ”
The fear now is that IF oil does NOT hold at the 2008 lows of $32.40, then you should move away from the fan….because when it hits it won’t be pretty and the start of 2016 will be one for the record books……maybe our friends at GS are right……Could we really see oil at $20/barrel?…….. I mean look - all of the major oil producers (think Saudi’s and the OPEC nations) continue to produce like there is no tomorrow - refusing to 'give in’……..as they try and slaughter the competition (think Russia, US and Non OPEC producers) …..If that is the case then we could all be in for some very rough time in the first half of 2016.
How about that JUNK?
Since 2007, the percentage of corporate bonds that Standard and Poors has rated 'junk’ (or more politically correct - Hi-Yield/Speculative) , has climbed from 40% to 50%. We can thank the FED for this - mostly because they encouraged companies to borrow massive amounts of money at near zero rates to 'kick start’ the economy….. and naturally, much of this borrowing came from the energy, metals and mining sectors - which are now in distress. (Fun Fact: The country is now looking at about $180 billion of total 'distressed debt’* - the highest level since the end of the Great Recession).
[*Distressed debt is the debt of companies that have filed for bankruptcy or have a significant chance of filing for bankruptcy in the very near future.]
And so - sports fans……that IS a problem - because Standard and Poors says that:
“a whopping 72% of the bonds in the metals; mining and steel industry is now distressed. That makes sense given the fact that prices for raw materials like copper, iron ore, aluminum and platinum have recently plummeted to crisis levels. It’s so bad that a key Bloomberg index of commodity prices is now sitting at its lowest level since 1999.”
Notice that they did not estimate what percentage of distressed debt is in the energy space….. and if oil prices stay depressed for much longer, more energy companies could default which will cause those mkts to 'sieze up’ - forcing asset managers to sell what they can…..(and here is where you have to think stocks…..because why? Because stocks are the most liquid, easily saleable, transparent asset class there is….Need to raise money - hit the sell button and BOOM - you are done) .
http://kennypolcari.tumblr.com/post/135441517380/and-the-headlines-say-it-all-try-the-simple

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1523624/000114420415071495/v426142_497.htm
497 1 v426142_497.htm 497
Filed Pursuant to Rule 497(e)
1933 Act Registration No. 333-175116
1940 Act Registration No. 811-22574
WHITEBOX TACTICAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND
WHITEBOX MARKET NEUTRAL EQUITY FUND
WHITEBOX TACTICAL ADVANTAGE FUND
Supplement dated December 17, 2015, to the Prospectuses dated January 16, 2015 (as supplemented March 5, 2015, September 1, 2015 and November 16, 2015)
The Board of Trustees (the “Trustees”) of Whitebox Mutual Funds (the “Trust”) has determined that it is in the best interests of the shareholders of the Whitebox Tactical Opportunities Fund, the Whitebox Market Neutral Equity Fund and the Whitebox Tactical Advantage Fund (collectively, the “Funds”) to liquidate and terminate the Funds.
The liquidation of the Funds is expected to be effective on or about January 19, 2016 or at such other time as may be authorized by the Trustees (the “Liquidation Date”). Termination of the Funds is expected to occur as soon as practicable following liquidation.
Effective at market close on December 17, 2015, the Funds will cease accepting purchase orders from new or existing investors. The Funds anticipate making a distribution of any income and/or capital gains of the Funds in connection with its liquidation. This distribution may be taxable. The tax year for the Fund will end on the Liquidation Date.
Shareholders of the Funds may redeem their shares at any time prior to the Liquidation Date.
If a shareholder has not redeemed his or her shares as of the Liquidation Date, the shareholder’s account will be automatically redeemed and proceeds will be sent to the shareholder at his or her address of record. Liquidation proceeds will be paid in cash for the redeemed shares at their net asset value.
To prepare for the closing and liquidation of the Funds, the Funds’ portfolio managers will likely increase the Funds’ assets held in cash and similar instruments in order to pay for Fund expenses and meet redemption requests. As a result, the Funds are expected to deviate from their stated investment strategies and policies and will no longer be managed to meet their investment objectives.
Redemptions of shares (including liquidating redemptions) are generally taxable. Shareholders should consult their personal tax adviser concerning their particular tax situations.
All expenses of the liquidation of the Funds will be borne by Whitebox Advisors LLC.
A shareholder may obtain additional information by contacting Investor Services at (855) 296-2866 Monday through Friday 9:00am to 8:00pm EST or by contacting his or her plan sponsor, broker-dealer, or financial institution.
* * *
Prospectus Supplement Dated December 17, 2015
Please Read Carefully and Keep for Future Reference

FYI:
Regards,
Ted
WSJ Slant:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/stocks-tread-water-ahead-of-fed-rate-decision-1450257431
Bloomberg Slant:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/asian-stocks-set-for-rebound-on-fed-day-as-dollar-holds-advance
Reuters Slant:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN0TZ01L20151216
MarketWatch Slant:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-eye-gains-as-interest-rate-hike-looms-2015-12-16/print
WSJ Markets At A Glance:
http://markets.wsj.com/us
Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker
Current Futures: Very Positive
http://finviz.com/futures.ashx

Thanks for the positive comments on the (now) Baird team.
Hardly a performance chaser. Just playing year end tax games and have cash on hand.
This is one of those unusual (but not extremely rare) years where a good year is being followed by a flat year. Pent up cap gains in funds are being realized, resulting in distributions sometimes exceeding share appreciation (virtually zero for the year). In those cases, it's better selling before dividends are distributed.
For other tax reasons (and also that I expect more stability in shorter munis than shorter taxable funds), I'm looking more at short/intermediate muni funds than taxable funds. Seems a good idea to diversify in the space (literally avoiding putting all of my "eggs" in a single basket, i.e. fund), so I'm poking around.
Regarding PRFSX - as you wrote, it seems a conservative, solid fund. M* likes it (gold rated), which could be a negative mark for some here :-). Though with an SEC yield of 0.62%, I think bank accounts (1% taxable) are better for now - guaranteed principal, and may even pay more if/when inflation (or Ms. Yellen) makes a showing. Savings accounts may be interesting to watch over the remainder of the year.

I always assume that the final distributions will be higher than the estimates. The management firm usually don't know the fund's earnings for the entire fiscal year when it makes the estimates, and it don't know until the record date how many shares those earnings are divided among.
For capital gains, mutual funds are required to use a fiscal year ending Oct 31st, so I wish fund companies would issue estimates in mid-to-late November. That way, they wouldn't be guessing on the total cap gains to distribute (they'd just be guessing on the number of shares). Still the exact amount of dividend income isn't known until the fund's "real" fiscal year ends.

FYI: Third Avenue attracted considerable attention last week with the announcement that it would restrict withdrawals from its high-yield Focused Credit Fund. And rightly so: Any investment management company that limits investors’ access to their capital is taking a major decision with consequential implications not just for its clients, but also for its own future. The move raises questions about the fund's investment strategy as well as market liquidity more generally, especially during periods of uncertainty and increasing market dislocations.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2015/12/14/9-lessons-from-third-avenue-freeze?t=mutual-funds

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/315774/000143510915001154/golden497e.htm
497 1 golden497e.htm
FORUM FUNDS
GOLDEN LARGE CAP CORE FUND
GOLDEN SMALL CAP CORE FUND
Supplement dated December 14, 2015 to the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated November 1, 2015
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING FUND REORGANIZATION
At a meeting held on December 11, 2015, the Board of Trustees of Forum Funds (“Board”) approved, subject to shareholder approval, a proposal to reorganize the Golden Large Cap Core Fund and Golden Small Cap Core Fund (together, the “Acquired Portfolios”), each a series of Forum Funds, into the Wells Fargo Large Cap Core Fund and the Wells Fargo Small Cap Core Fund (together, the “Acquiring Portfolios”), respectively, each a series of the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds. Golden Capital Management, LLC (“Golden”), the investment adviser to the Acquired Portfolios, recommended the reorganization to the Board.
In order to accomplish the reorganizations, the Board voted to submit an agreement and plan of reorganization to shareholders of each Acquired Portfolio’s shareholders for their approval. If the shareholders of an Acquired Portfolio approve the reorganization proposal, then the Acquired Portfolio will transfer all of its assets and liabilities to the respective Acquiring Portfolio in exchange for shares of the Acquiring Portfolio and the Acquired Portfolio’s shareholders will receive shares of the Acquiring Portfolio in exchange for their Acquired Portfolio shares. The reorganizations are intended to qualify as tax-free transactions for federal income tax purposes.
The Board has called a shareholder meeting to take place in March 2016 where the shareholders will consider and vote on the agreement and plan of reorganization. This meeting will occur at the offices of Forum Funds, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 600, Portland, Maine 04101. If approved by shareholders, the reorganizations are expected to occur in May 2016.
* * *
For more information, please contact a Fund customer service representative toll free at (800) 206-8610.
PLEASE RETAIN FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

I own the same fund and have been thinking about whether I should sell it or not also. I'm concerned that a lot of people are going to do exactly what you're doing and I'm thinking about, causing remaining shareholders extra cost, potential capital gains and potential impacts on investment performance. I've held the fund for a while and I like it so I don't want to do anything irrational, but worried that the future may not be as nice as the past.

As mostly a long term investor I have found it is as important as when I buy as much as when I sell for good gains. In today's market climate I am building cash over buying or adding to existing positions in what I consider to be a peaking and overvalued stock market. I'd much rather be buying in a market that has a TTM P/E Ratio of 14, 15 or 16 rather than the current 22 reading. I have found that the returns are greater when bought at reasonable valuations rather in an expensive and/or towards the top of a market.
With the above in mind, I am keeping both my bonds (due to anticipated rising rates) and equities (due to high valuations) towards their mid to low range while keeping my cash towards its high end within my portfolio's asset allocation.
As I noted above, a fund that trades on equity market volatility is CTFAX. And, since my cash is currently towards the top of its allocation limit, I thinking of buying more of CTFAX with all of this years mutual fund capital gain distributions.

OMG, deja vu!
Here are the founders of Stone Lion Capital:
Alan Jay Mintz, CPA, a co-founder of Stone Lion Capital was Co-Head of the Distressed Debt and High Yield trading group at Bear Stearns
Gregory Augustine Hanley, a co-founder of Stone Lion Capital was Co-Head of the Distressed Debt and High Yield trading group at Bear Stearns
from: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-12/eerie-echo-2007-it-really-bear-stearns-all-over-again

I started a position in First Eagle Global Income Builder (FEBAX) shortly after it opened 3 1/2 years ago, as a defensive compliment to my largest holding, PRWCX. It's done better than the category average, but not too well risk adjusted or versus the S&P 500. I just think I need to give it more time (like a full market cycle) since it's a global value oriented fund which focuses on capital preservation first - and those haven't performed very well the past few years.

Hi @Lawlar and others,
I own a small position in CTFAX and I am thinking of plowing most all of my capital gains distributions received this year into this fund thus making it my special investment (spiff) fund. This fund will automatically do what I have been doing manualy except I move, back and forth, between cash and equities and it will move, back & forth, from bonds to equities. Currently, my cash position pays little interest while this fund pays about a two percent yield plus capital gains disbursed twice annually from profits (spiffs) made through it's trading activity.
I like this fund because it seems to be good at playing defense as well as running a conserative based offense.
Since, I am traveling, I am making this post through my tablet and not my desk top thus I am unable to link the funds fact sheet as easily as I would through my desk top. But, you might wish to Google "CTFAX Fact Sheet" to get the scoop on this fund. I believe, it has averaged about a six percent annual return over the past ten year period. Since now being retired, I plan to take about a three to four percent distribution from my portfolio each year; and, this fund seems to be a good fit for me in doing this along with growing it's principal over time.

Hedge-fund firm Stone Lion Capital Partners L.P. said it has suspended redemptions in its oldest fund this afternoon, after many investors asked for their money back.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/now-stone-lion-capital-suspends-redemptions-as-junk-bond-market-fears-accelerate-2015-12-11

Panic in high-yield hits BDCs
Dec 11 2015, 15:40 ET | By: Stephen Alpher, SA News Editor Contact this editor with comments or a news tip
Treasury yields are plunging, but high-yield is headed the other way again as investors mull a big selloff in the major averages and oil's plunge to below $36 per barrel.The pain is widespread, but a panic in credit is particularly painful for BDCs. Hitting the tape a few minutes ago, Jeff Gundlach says "there's never just one cockroach" when credit melts down.http://seekingalpha.com/news/2980206-panic-in-high-yield-hits-bdcs?uprof=46
Gundlach: If Fed met today, it wouldn't hike
Dec 11 2015, 15:30 ET | By: Stephen Alpher, SA News Editor
"There's never just one cockroach" when credit melts down, Jeffrey Gundlach tells Reuters, and investors have been on "credit overload."The best trade at the moment, he says, is to sell the S&P 500 and buy closed-end credit funds (not Third Avenue's!)
http://seekingalpha.com/news/2980186-gundlach-if-fed-met-today-it-wouldnt-hike
More Coal
OPEC piled on the bad news. After last week’s removal of a production target, this week the oil cartel released figures that showed the group collectively produced the most oil in three years in November, ramping up output to 31.7 million barrels per day (mb/d). Iraq accounted for most of the monthly gains, achieving more than 247,000 barrels per day in increases from October.
The bearish news suggests more pain in the offing for U.S. shale. The EIA put out an estimate, expecting U.S. shale to lose 116,000 barrels per day in production in January, with the largest losses once again coming from the Eagle Ford shale (down 77,000 barrels per day).
http://oilprice.com/newsletters/free/opintel12112015

@Old_Joe
We might have more opportunities ahead !
House committee approves easing accredited-investor standard
Measure with bipartisan support would expand the kind of investors who can purchase unregistered securities
By Mark Schoeff Jr. | December 9, 2015 - 10:58 am EST
"We're trying to expand opportunities for Americans to participate in taking a risk but also engaging in the benefits of the upside using their knowledge, not only just a threshold that says you get to invest just because you have wealth," Mr. Schweikert said during debate on the bill Tuesday night.
As the committee advances the legislation, the SEC has indicated it will soon release a review of the accredited-investor standard.
Republicans have pushed to expand the accredited-investor parameters, asserting that doing so would help small business start-ups and other emerging investments raise capital.
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20151209/FREE/151209918/house-committee-approves-easing-accredited-investor-standard?template=printart

When Trends Reverse
Posted on December 8, 2015 by David Ott Acropolis Investment Management
Some strategies, managed futures being the most obvious, are based exclusively on trend following and they really got hurt last Thursday.
Managed futures funds attempt to catch trends by buying what has gone up recently and selling short assets that have fallen recently. Going into the meeting, they were short euros and long German bonds (among other things) and were hit with a tough reversal.
The Newedge Trend Index, an equally weighted index of large managed futures managers, lost -3.66 percent on Thursday, wiping out all of the gains for that index for the year. http://www.newedge.com/en/newedge-indices/
Although we haven’t really invested in managed futures programs, we have been looking into them over the past several years.
We’re not opposed to managed futures and trend following, but we don’t feel like anyone understands them like traditional asset classes like stocks and bonds.
..there is good data on stocks and bonds that goes back to the 1800s for the US and many decades from countries all over the world.
As always, we’ll keep looking and learning, just like we did last Thursday.
http://acrinv.com/when-trends-reverse/

@Old_Skeet
Consumer Discretionary Stocks Still Shine As Energy Stays Weak
By James Picerno | Dec 9, 2015 at 06:58 am EST The Capital Spectator

http://www.capitalspectator.com/consumer-discretionary-stocks-still-shine-as-energy-stays-weak/
From Ted's post today
Davis also suggests rebalancing toward unloved sectors, such as emerging markets.
Prudent investors are slightly contrarian at the margins, he said. "A value-based, long-term approach tends to go against short-term market momentum," he added.
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MjEwOTA2NDE=