Blue Current GLOBAL DIVIDEND FUND
At Blue Current, we focus on delivering sustainable dividend income growth so that you can maintain your purchasing power without having to worry about inflation eroding the lifestyle you have created. Our portfolios invest in growing companies that are committed to continually increasing their dividends over time so that you directly benefit from their success. Our global dividend growth fund is intended to deliver a double-digit dividend growth rate per year for investors.
Our ideal portfolio company has a healthy balance sheet with durable margins that can withstand the ups and downs of the global economy. Most of our portfolio investments are multi-national companies that are positioned to take advantage of global secular growth trends and we seek to invest when the company is trading at a discount relative to their intrinsic value. We seek to find the intersection of value and quality growth.
Despite having both a global and international strategy, we do not invest directly in emerging markets as we are inherently skeptical of their shareholder governance policies
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In the current environment, investors need to make every penny work for them. With yield in short supply and safe income streams providing little return, high quality companies with growing and sustainable cash flow from across the globe might be less risky than you think – and more fruitful. Over the long run, dividends matter, and dividend growth investors have outperformed. *
The Blue Current Global Dividend Fund (BCGDX) utilizes its investment expertise in growing cash flow through what we believe is a niche universe of high quality, dividend-paying companies with sustainable business models and dividend policies. The primary objectives are to pay a stable and increasing dividend each quarter and deliver attractive long term capital appreciation to investors.
The Blue Current investment team concentrates on a select portfolio of 25-50 companies across developed markets that meet our stringent qualities. We focus on companies that we believe have a history of rewarding shareholders and have the financial ability to continue to increase the dividend over time. We also focus on the future earnings potential of each company and strive to purchase those businesses when they are trading at a discount to their true value.
With Blue Current’s Discipline We Strive To:
- Invest in quality companies that combine dividend income with dividend and free cash flow growth
- Grow capital on a risk-adjusted basis
- Identify attractively valued companies
- Not manage to an index
We Believe These Factors Enable Dividend Growers to Outperform:
- Quality: A company committed to the dividend and its growth is more likely to have a long-term sustainable business model that produces cash flow throughout the business cycle.
- Income: The dividend is a meaningful contributor to an investor’s total return, especially in a low growth environment.
- Inflation Protection: Growing dividends enable investors to maintain purchasing power during an inflationary period.
- Lower Volatility: Companies that pay an increasing dividend have historically exhibited less volatility than the broader market.
* Strategas estimates that dividends on average represent 53% of the S&P 500 total return since 1940. Ned Davis Research estimates that Dividend Growers & Initiators have annualized at 9.9% vs. 7.4% for the S&P 500 Geometric Equal-Weighted Total Return Index from 1972-2013.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Blue Current Global Dividend Fund (the “Fund”) seeks current income and capital appreciation.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in dividend-paying equity securities of companies whose stock are selling at discounts to the Adviser’s estimate of their intrinsic value. The Fund invests primarily in domestic and foreign equity securities such as common and preferred stock that are currently paying dividends. In order to hedge against currency risk to its foreign equity securities, the Fund will invest in forward foreign currency exchange contracts (“forwards”). The Fund may also invest in publicly traded exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that tend to pay dividends. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities that either have paid a dividend in the 12 months prior to purchase, or are expected by the Adviser to pay a dividend within 12 months following the Fund’s purchase of the security . There are no restrictions as to the market capitalization of companies in which the Fund invests. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will generally hold securities of 25 to 50 companies.
In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser seeks securities that the Adviser believes are undervalued, high-quality dividend paying equities issued by companies with a commitment to dividend growth, and that pay above-market dividend yields. The Adviser considers such factors as dividend sustainability, balance sheet quality, growth characteristics, and valuation when selecting investments for the Fund. Throughout this process the Adviser applies fundamental, “bottom-up” analysis when selecting investments. This analysis focuses on the specific attributes of each company rather than the industry in which the company operates or the economy in general.
The Fund seeks to have a diversified portfolio by issuer, industry, and country. The Fund will invest, under normal market conditions, in at least three different countries, one of which will be the United States. The Fund will also invest at least 40% of its assets in foreign securities. The Fund’s foreign securities will primarily be in companies in developed countries.
The Fund’s investment in foreign securities may include investing in securities traded on foreign exchanges, investing in American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) listed on U.S. stock exchanges, or investing in ETFs that invest in foreign securities. The Fund may seek to hedge against currency fluctuations and deviations involving its foreign equity securities, including by investing in forward foreign currency exchange contracts.
A security may be sold when the security reaches its intrinsic value as determined by the Adviser, the Adviser has identified a more attractive security, or the security no longer meets the Adviser’s dividend-paying criteria.
“DO YOU KNOW THE ONLY THING THAT GIVES ME PLEASURE?
IT’S TO SEE MY DIVIDENDS COMING IN.”
John D. Rockefeller
PRINCIPAL RISKS
As with any mutual fund investment, there is a risk that you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The success of the Fund’s investment strategy depends largely upon the Adviser’s skill in selecting securities for purchase and sale by the Fund and there is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Because of the types of securities in which the Fund invests and the investment techniques the Adviser uses, the Fund is designed for investors who are investing for the long term. The Fund may not be appropriate for use as a complete investment program. The principal risks of an investment in the Fund are generally described below.
Stock Market Risk – The return on and value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate in response to stock market movements. Stocks are subject to market risks, such as a rapid increase or decrease in a stock’s value or liquidity, fluctuations in price due to earnings, economic conditions and other factors beyond the control of the Adviser. A company’s share price may decline if a company does not perform as expected, if it is not well managed, if there is a decreased demand for its products or services, or during periods of economic uncertainty or stock market turbulence, among other conditions. In a declining stock market, stock prices for all companies (including those in the Fund’s portfolio) may decline, regardless of their long-term prospects. During periods of market volatility, stock prices can change drastically, and you could lose money over short or long term periods.
Management Style Risk – The portfolio manager’s method of security selection may not be successful and the Fund may underperform relative to other mutual funds that employ similar investment strategies. In addition, the Adviser may select investments that fail to perform as anticipated. The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to the success of the Adviser’s investment process and there is no guarantee that the Adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, value, dividend-paying and potential appreciation of a particular investment for the Fund will be correct or produce the desired results. Although the Adviser has investment management experience, the Adviser has no experience as an investment adviser to a mutual fund prior to the Fund’s inception.
Investment Style Risk – Returns from dividend-paying stocks may underperform the returns from the overall stock market. Since the Fund invests primarily in dividend-paying stocks, the Fund’s performance may at times be better or worse than the performance of the mutual funds that focus on other types of strategies.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk – Large-capitalization companies are generally more mature and may be unable to respond as quickly as smaller companies to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk – Investments in small-cap and mid-cap companies often involve higher risks than large-cap companies because these companies may lack the management experience, financial resources, product diversification and competitive strengths of larger companies. Therefore, the securities of small- and mid- cap companies may be more susceptible to market downturns and other events, and their prices may be subject to greater price fluctuation. In addition, the securities of small- and mid-cap companies may trade less frequently and carry less volume than that of larger companies. Because small- and mid-cap companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies, it may be difficult to buy or sell significant amounts of such shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing prices. Small-cap and mid-cap companies are typically subject to greater changes in earnings and business prospects than larger, more established companies and also may not be widely followed by investors, which can lower the demand for their stock.
Foreign Securities Risk – Investments in foreign securities involve risks that may be different from those of U.S. securities. Foreign securities may not be subject to uniform audit, financial reporting, or disclosure standards, practices, or requirements comparable to those found in the United States. Foreign securities are also subject to the risk of adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations or currency exchange rates, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, limitations on the removal of funds or other assets, political or social instability and nationalization of companies or industries. In addition, the dividend and interest payable on certain of the Fund’s foreign securities may be subject to foreign withholding taxes. Foreign securities also involve currency risk, which is the risk that the value of a foreign security will decrease due to changes in the relative value of the U.S. dollar and the security’s underlying foreign currency. ADRs and ETFs investing in foreign securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with direct investments in foreign securities.
Currency Risk – Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s foreign securities. Generally, when the value of the U.S. dollar raises relative to a foreign currency, securities valued in that foreign currency lose value in terms of U.S. dollars since that foreign currency is worth fewer U.S. dollars. Currency exchange rates can fluctuate for a number reasons, including the economic stability of a country, changes in interest rates, devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or central banking authority, and overall demand for a currency or lack thereof. Exchange rates can change significantly over short periods.
The Fund may seeks to hedge against currency exposure, such as investing in forward foreign currency exchange contracts, to attempt to reduce the effect of currency fluctuations and deviations. However, the Fund’s use of currency hedging may not be successful and the use of such strategy may lower the Fund’s potential returns.
Forward Currency Exchange Contract Risk – Forward Currency Exchange Contracts (“Forex Contracts”) are individually negotiated and privately traded agreements to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date and at a price set at the time of the transaction. Although Forex Contracts may reduce the risk of loss from a change in value of a currency, they also limit any potential gains, are subject to the creditworthiness of the counterparty, do not protect against fluctuations in the value of the underlying security, and are subject to additional risk of loss or depreciation due to: unanticipated adverse changes in interest rates, indices, and currency exchange rates; the inability to close out a position; default by the counterparty; imperfect correlation between a forward and the underlying currency; and tax constraints on closing out positions. The loss on Forex Contracts may substantially exceed the amount invested in these instruments.
ETF Risk – Investments in ETFs are subject to the risk that the market price of an ETF’s shares may differ from its net asset value (“NAV”). This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETF shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the underlying basket of securities. Accordingly, there may be times when an ETF trades at a premium (creating the risk that the Fund pays more than NAV for an ETF when making a purchase) or discount (creating the risks that the NAV is reduced for undervalued ETFs it holds, and that the Fund receives less than NAV when selling an ETF). Investments in index-based ETFs are also subject to the risk that the ETF may not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the indices it tracks because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred in adjusting the actual balance of the securities. In addition, the index-based ETFs in which the Fund invests may incur expenses not incurred by their applicable indices. Certain securities comprising the indices tracked by index-based ETFs may, from time to time, temporarily be unavailable, which may further impede the ETFs’ ability to track their applicable indices or match their performance. To the extent that the Fund invests in ETFs, the Fund would bear its pro-rata portion of such ETF’s advisory fees and operational expenses.
