AKRE Focus ETF is in registration. The Fund invests primarily in securities of companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. Investments consist primarily of common stocks of companies of any size market capitalization. John H. Neff will be the portfolio manager. Expenses have not been disclosed. Mr. Neff also comanages Akre Focus Fund, which was founded by the namesake Charles Akre. Mr. Akre was remarkable, engaging, and … well, old. He retired from day-to-day management about three years ago. Since then Akre Focus Fund has performed in the way it was designed: exceptional in down markets, reasonable in up markets. In the absence of Mr. Akre, that seems not to have convinced shareholders to stay:
In the fund’s three “laggard” years, including 2024, it’s made an average of 22% for its investors. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
FMI Global Fund is in registration. The Fund invests mainly in a limited number of large capitalization (namely, companies with more than $5 billion market capitalization at the time of initial purchase) value stocks of global companies (U.S. and non-U.S. companies). The institutional share class is the only share class offered at this time with an initial investment minimum of $100,000. The fund will be managed by a portfolio management committee composed of Patrick J. English, John S Brandser, Jonathan T. Bloom, and Robert M. Helf assisted by numerous analysts. Net operating expenses will be .90%. Global might incorporate the best of a five-star domestic fund and a four-star international one, with both sporting “Low” risk (per Morningstar) and “High” returns.
Parnassus Core Select and Parnassus Value Select ETFs are in registration. The total annual fund operating expenses for the Parnassus Core Select and Parnassus Value Select ETFs will be .58% and .59%, respectively. Billy J. Hwan, CPA, CFA, and Krishna S. Chintalapalli will be the portfolio co-managers of the Value Select ETF. Todd C. Ahlsten, Benjamin E. Allen, and Andrew S. Choi will be the portfolio co-managers of the Core Select ETF.
Tweedy, Browne Insider + Value ETF is in registration. It will buy equity securities of U.S. and non-U.S. companies that Tweedy, Browne believes are undervalued, and where either the company’s “insiders” have been actively purchasing the company’s equity securities and/or the company is conducting “opportunistic share buybacks”. For the purposes of the investing, the adviser considers a company’s “insiders” to be executives, corporate officers, and/or directors or controlling shareholders, and the Adviser principally intends to determine whether such insiders are “actively” purchasing a company’s equity securities at a price that is less than the Adviser’s view of such securities’ intrinsic value by reference to public reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Roger de Bree, Jay Hill, Thomas Shrager, John Spears, Robert Wyckoff, Andrew Ewert, and Frank Hawrylak are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Total annual fund operating expenses will be .80%.
Vanguard’s legacy mutual fund platform will be ceasing at the end of 2025. According to Vanguard, their Vanguard Brokerage Account platform is a modern investing experience with access to additional investment products (Vanguard and non-Vanguard mutual funds, ETFs, stock, bonds, and CDs) and services with access to additional investment products and services, including their ETFs, advice offers and their new Cash Plus Account, will be the only way Personal Investor clients can invest directly with Vanguard. Existing clients are being notified their accounts will be eligible for an automatic transition from August 2024 into 2025.
The WSJ notes that active ETF launches in 2024 outnumber passive ones by 3:1, despite the fact that active large cap ETFs trail both passive ETFs and active funds in performance. Active ETFs thrive only in small cap equity and bond investing, per the Journal and Morningstar Direct.
Small Wins for Investors
The Board of Trustees of the Villere Balanced Fund and Villere Equity Fund agreed to reduce the Balanced Fund’s operating expense limit from 0.99% to 0.89%, and the Equity Fund’s operating expense limit from 1.25% to 1.15%, both effective October 1, 2024.
Closings and Other Inconveniences
Effective as of October 16, 2024, Fidelity Small Cap Growth Fund closed to new investors and did so without advance notice. Once upon a time, popular funds would announce their closings weeks in advance in an attempt by the marketers to harvest a last rush of assets. We’re glad that Fidelity did not.
Effective as of the close of business on October 4, 2024, the Hood River Small-Cap Growth Fund is closed to most new investors.
Effective November 4, 2024, Manning & Napier High Yield Bond will be closed to new investors with all the usual soft close exceptions.
Old Wine, New Bottles
In a substantial and, from the discussion board’s perspective, worrisome move, on November 1, 2024, AlphaCentric Strategic Income Fund became AlphaCentric Real Income Fund. The worrisome part, from their perspective, is that CrossingBridge Advisers will become the fund’s new subadviser. Members of the MFO community expressed two sets of concerns: (1) that the AlphaCentric culture, which Morningstar rates as “low,” was not healthy, and (2) that CrossingBridge might be extending themselves too far, at the risk of both their brand and their ability to execute across their increasing array of strategies.
Blackrock International Dividend Fund will be converted into BlackRock International Dividend ETF on or about November 15.
Fidelity Municipal Core Plus Bond Fund will be reorganized into an exchange traded fund (ETF), titled Fidelity Municipal Bond Opportunities ETF. The ETF will have identical investment objectives, principal investment strategies, and fundamental investment policies. Cormac Cullen, Michael Maka, and Elizah McLaughlin will be co-portfolio managers of the ETF. All three individuals managed the predecessor fund. Expenses have not been stated at this time. The fund is expected to be converted in April 2025.
Fidelity Municipal Bond Index Fund will be reorganized into an ETF, titled Fidelity Systematic Municipal Bond Index ETF The ETF will have identical investment objectives, principal investment strategies, and fundamental investment policies. Brandon Bettencourt, Richard Munclinger, and Mark Lande will be the portfolio managers. All three individuals managed the predecessor fund. Expenses have not been stated at this time. The fund is expected to be converted in April 2025.
Effective October 10, 2024, Fidelity High Yield Factor ETF will be renamed Fidelity Enhanced High Yield ETF. Truth be told, no “enhancement” other than a new manager is in evidence.
On or around December 9, 2024, the GQG Funds will jettison to word “Dividend Income” from their names in favor of “Value.” They’re given no reason.
| Old name | New name |
| GQG Partners International Quality Dividend Income Fund | GQG Partners International Quality Value Fund |
| GQG Partners Global Quality Dividend Income Fund | GQG Partners Global Quality Value Fund |
| GQG Partners US Quality Dividend Income Fund | GQG Partners US Quality Value Fund |
In connection with the foregoing changes, the Funds also will make certain changes to their principal investment strategies and benchmark indices.
On December 6, 2024, The Beehive Fund (mid- to large-cap domestic equity with the usual promises about defensible business models and such) will become The Beehive ETF.
Dustbin of History
Altegris/Crabel Multi-Strategy Fund was, “in the best interest of its shareholders,” liquidated on October 28, 2024.
Baillie Gifford U.S. Discovery and Baillie Gifford Health Innovation Equities Funds will be liquidated on or about December 2 and January 6, 2025, respectively.
Clifford Capital Focused Small Cap Value Fund will be liquidated on or about November 20.
The nine-year-old Ensemble Fund was liquidated on October 24, 2024. The reason was unusual: the advisor is being acquired by a firm (unnamed) that does not wish to be in the mutual fund business.
FS Managed Futures Fund was liquidated, on rather short notice, on October 15, 2024.
Heitman US Real Estate Securities Fund will be liquidated on or around November 27, 2024.
Intrepid Small Cap Fund will be merged into the Intrepid Capital Fund on November 22, 2024. “The Intrepid Small Cap Fund will then terminate,” sayeth the filing. The fund was a vehicle for accessing the acumen of Eric Cinnamond, and then his colleague Jayme Wiggins, whose discipline was simple: only buy stocks that are poised for outstanding returns over the next several years.
Oberweis Emerging Markets Fund will be liquidated on or about November 18.
ProcureAM, LLC, the investment advisor to Procure Disaster Recovery Strategy ETF, determined that the Fund should be closed. It will be liquidated on or about October 24, 2024.
Rational Real Assets Fund (formerly, Rational Inflation Growth Fund) will be liquidated on or about November 6, 2024.