Quantcast
The MFWire
Manage Email Alerts | Sponsorships | About MFWire | Who We Are

Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]

Rating:TFS Wants to Pull the Plug on Performance-Based Fees Not Rated 5.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Thursday, February 11, 2010

TFS Wants to Pull the Plug on Performance-Based Fees

News summary by MFWire's editors

West Chester, Pennsylvania-based TFS Capital LLC is moving to scrap the performance fee adjustment from the fee structure of the $22.8 million TFS Small Cap Fund. A special meeting of shareholders is scheduled for February 26 to approve an amended advisory agreement, which the board of trustees had greenlighted in December.

If approved by shareholders, the fund will pay TFS an advisory fee equal to the annual rate of 1.25 percent of the average value of the fund's daily net assets -- the same as the base fee under the existing advisory agreement.

In his January 22 letter to fund shareholders, TFS Larry Eiben described the current fee structure as "complicated and difficult to explain to prospective investors."

Eiben noted that "although the Fund has enjoyed a superior investment record over the life of the Fund, it has not experienced similar success with the distribution of its shares."

"TFS has not collected any of its management fee since the inception of the Fund and has also reimbursed a significant amount of the Fund’s other operating expenses," he wrote. "For the Fund to increase its assets and reach a more appropriate size in a reasonable period of time, it needs to grow more rapidly through the issuance of additional shares... The Trustees have concluded that the investment community has not been receptive to the Fund because of the Fund’s unusual performance fee structure."
TFS President Larry Eiben's January 22 Letter to Fund Shareholders

Dear Shareholder,

I am writing to inform you of an upcoming Special Meeting of the shareholders of the TFS Small Cap Fund (the “Fund”) to be held on Friday, February 26, 2010. At this meeting, you are being asked to approve an amendment to the investment advisory agreement for the Fund with TFS Capital LLC (“TFS”) that eliminates the performance based adjustment from the fee structure. The Board of Trustees of your Fund has carefully reviewed this amended investment advisory agreement and believes that this proposal is in the Fund’s and your best interest.

Currently, the Fund’s investment advisory fee is structured with both a base fee and a performance related fee that adjusts the base fee upward or downward depending on the Fund’s performance relative to its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index + 2.50% (the “Benchmark”), over a rolling 12 month period. This fee structure was designed to provide incentives to TFS to achieve superior returns. As described in the Proxy Statement, the fee payable under the proposed amended investment advisory agreement would be the same as the base fee under the current investment advisory agreement (1.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets), except that the fee would not be subject to upward or downward adjustments based on the Fund’s performance relative to the Benchmark.

Although the Fund has enjoyed a superior investment record over the life of the Fund, it has not experienced similar success with the distribution of its shares. TFS has not collected any of its management fee since the inception of the Fund and has also reimbursed a significant amount of the Fund’s other operating expenses. For the Fund to increase its assets and reach a more appropriate size in a reasonable period of time, it needs to grow more rapidly through the issuance of additional shares. The Trustees have concluded that the investment community has not been receptive to the Fund because of the Fund’s unusual performance fee structure. The fee structure is complicated and difficult to explain to prospective investors and for them to readily understand; when the Fund outperforms for a given period the advisory fee is at the higher end of the industry standards for that period; and the advisory fee can vary considerably from period to period. Although the Board of Trustees continues to support performance fees conceptually, it has concluded that changing to a straightforward fixed fee structure is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. The Board believes that TFS’s commitment to the Fund will continue and that the fixed fee will lead to the fee level and predictability that the investment community seems to want and thereby enable the Fund to become a viable mutual fund. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees recommends that the shareholders vote to approve the amended investment advisory agreement.

I'm sure that you, like most people, lead a busy life and are tempted to put this proxy aside for another day. Please don't. When shareholders do not return their proxies, additional expenses are incurred to pay for follow-up mailings and telephone calls. PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO REVIEW THIS PROXY STATEMENT AND VOTE YOUR SHARES TODAY.

The Board of Trustees of the Fund has approved the proposal described herein and recommends a vote "FOR" the proposal. If you have any questions regarding the issue to be voted on or need assistance in completing your proxy card, please contact us toll free at 1-888-534-2001.

I appreciate your consideration of this important proposal. Thank you for investing with the TFS Small Cap Fund and for your continued support.

Sincerely,

/s/ Larry S. Eiben

Larry S. Eiben
President  

Edited by: InvestmentWires Staff, 


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE

5.0
 Do You Recommend This Story?



GO TO: MFWire
Return to Top
 News Archives
2024: Q2Q1
2023: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2022: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2021: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2020: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2019: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2018: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2017: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2016: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2015: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2014: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2013: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2012: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2011: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2010: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2009: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2008: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2007: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2006: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2005: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2004: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2003: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2002: Q4Q3Q2Q1
 Subscribe via RSS:
Raw XML
Add to My Yahoo!
follow us in feedly


  1. WE Boston - Women's Initiative Joint Spring Networking Reception, May 15
  2. MFDF In Focus: Making Sense of ESG - A Morningstar Guide, May 16
  3. SEC IM 2024 Conference on Emerging Trends in Asset Management, May 16
  4. ALFI Roadshow to the USA, May 16
  5. 2024 ICI Leadership Summit, May 21-23
  6. MFDF webinar - Mutual Fund Director Compensation: the MPI Annual Survey (2024), May 21
  7. Schwab Institutional Investor Day, May 22
  8. MFDF Conference of Fund Leaders Forum, June 5
  9. MFDF in-person outreach: Continuing Regulatory Impacts on Fund Boards, June 11
  10. MFDF webinar - Digital Assets in the Fund Space (Part 1 of 2), June 12
  11. 2024 MMI Leadership Pathway Seminar, Jun 12-14
  12. 2024 Nicsa Fearless Leadership Symposium, June 12
  13. MFDF webinar - Lessons Learned from the Regional Bank Volatility and the Impact on Registered Funds, June 18
  14. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (Philadelphia), June 20
  15. New York YPEM Cornhole Classic, June 25
  16. Morningstar Investment Conference Conference 2024, Jun 26-27
  17. MFDF webinar - Mid-Year Tax Update for Registered Investment Companies, July 16
  18. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum via Zoom, July 17
  19. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (New York), July 23
  20. 2024 MMI Annual Conference, Oct 15-17
  21. 5th Annual ETFGI Global ETFs Insight Summit, October 29
  22. MFDF webinar - Digital Assets in the Fund Space (part 2 of 2), November 7
  23. MFDF 2025 Directors' Institute, January 27 - 29, 2025
  24. MFDF 2025 Fund Governance & Regulatory Insights Conference, March 6 - 7, 2025




©All rights reserved to InvestmentWires, Inc. 1997-2024
14 Wall Street | 20th Floor | New York, NY 10005 | P: 212-331-8968 | F: 212-331-8998
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use