Wintergreen Fund News
New Class of Shares Available for Wintergreen Fund Investors
January 4, 2012
We are pleased to announce that Wintergreen Fund (the "Fund") has created a new class of shares effective December 30, 2011 — the Institutional Class. The Institutional Class of shares has the same management fee as the Investor Class shares but is not subject to the Fund's 12b-1 (Distribution/Service) fee, which was approximately 0.21% during the last fiscal year, resulting in lower overall expenses to be paid by the Institutional Class shareholder. The ticker for the new class of shares is "WGRIX" and both classes of shares are invested in the same underlying portfolio.
Guidelines for Choosing a Share Class:
Institutional Class — WGRIX
The minimum initial investment for this class is $100,000. Your entire purchase price is invested in Fund shares at the net asset value ("NAV") per share of the Institutional Class. As noted within the Fund's prospectus, Shareholders in Institutional Class shares do not pay any 12b-1 (Distribution/Service) fees. Institutional Class shares may not be available at all financial intermediaries. See the "Fees and Expenses of the Fund" table in the Fund's prospectus for expenses for both Class shares.
Investor Class — WGRNX
The minimum initial investment for this class is $10,000 for regular accounts and $3,000 for IRA's ($2,000 for Coverdell accounts). Your entire purchase price is invested in Fund shares at the NAV per share of the Investor Class. Shareholders in the Investor Class shares also pay distribution (12b-1) fees of up to 0.25%. See "Distribution (12b-1) and Service Fees" in the Fund's prospectus.
Converting from Investor Class to Institutional Class Shares
If the current market value of your accounts in the Investor Class is at least $100,000, you may elect to convert the accounts from Investor Class to Institutional Class shares in the Fund on the basis of relative NAVs. Converting from Investor Class to Institutional Class shares may not be available at certain financial intermediaries, or there may be additional costs involved associated with this conversion charged by your financial intermediary. There is no fee for converting accounts held directly with the Fund. Because the NAV per share of the Institutional Class shares may be higher or lower than that of the Investor Class shares at the time of conversion, although the total dollar value will be the same, a shareholder may receive more or fewer Institutional Class shares than the number of Investor Class shares converted.
You may convert from Investor Class to Institutional Class shares by calling Wintergreen Fund at 1-888-468-6473 or your financial intermediary if you don't have a direct account with the Fund. If the total market value of your Institutional Class shares account declines to less than $100,000 due to a redemption, we may convert your Institutional Class shares into Investor Class shares of the Fund on the basis of relative NAV's. Although the total dollar value will be the same, a shareholder may receive more or fewer Investor Class shares than the number of Institutional Class shares converted. Please see "Shareholder Information" in the Fund's prospectus. A conversion from Investor Class shares to Institutional Class shares of the Fund or from Institutional Class shares to Investor Class shares of the Fund pursuant to the preceding paragraphs should generally not be a taxable exchange for federal income tax purposes. Please contact your tax advisor or accountant to discuss your specific situation.
The Fund is subject to several risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The Fund may purchase risk arbitrage securities (securities of companies involved in a restructuring) or distressed companies. These companies may not be successful in their restructuring and securities of distressed companies are generally more likely to become worthless than securities of more financially stable companies. Smaller companies involve substantial risk as these securities are traditionally more volatile in price than larger company securities. Securities rated below investment grade, sometimes called junk bonds, involve a greater degree of risk than investment grade bonds in return for higher yield potential. The Fund may be subject to interest rate risk which is the risk that debt securities in the Fund's portfolio will decline in value because of increases in market interest rates. By participating in derivative securities, the Fund may attempt to hedge (protect) against currency risk which is the risk that the value of foreign securities may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates. Derivatives can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks, depending upon the characteristics of a particular derivative. International investing involves certain risks and increased volatility not associated with investing solely in the U.S. These risks include currency fluctuations, economic or financial instability, lack of timely or reliable financial information or unfavorable political or legal developments. These risks are magnified in emerging markets. Short sale risk is the risk that the Fund will incur an unlimited loss if the price of a security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Fund replaces the borrowed security.
In light of these risks, the Fund may not be suitable for all investors.
Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and additional information regarding the Fund. To obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus, please download from this site or call toll-free 1-888-468-6473. The prospectus and summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing. This website is not a solicitation for the Fund outside of the United States.
Foreside Fund Services, LLC, distributor (www.foreside.com)
Wintergreen Fund Ranked #1 by Lipper
Lipper ranked the Wintergreen Fund #1 out of 87, and #1 out of 73, Global Large-Cap Growth funds, based on its 3- and 5-year periods ended 12/31/11, respectively, based on total returns for the Investor Class.
Wintergreen Fund rated 5 stars by Morningstar
The Fund has earned a 5-year Morningstar Rating™ of five stars for its risk-adjusted performance among 490 World Stock funds for the 5-year period ended 12/31/11 for the Investor Class.
News
January 24th, 2012
David Winters will be presenting at The Ben Graham Centre's 2012 Value Investing Conference
January 4th, 2012
New Class of Shares Available for Wintergreen Fund Investors
December 27th, 2011
David Winters interviewed by Barron's
December 20th, 2011
Year-End Distribution information is now available
December 16th, 2011
David Winters appeared on Consuelo Mack WealthTrack