While the press headlines would generally lead investors to believe that the world is on the verge of ending, at Wintergreen we believe that these are times of opportunity. Our confidence comes from truly understanding the businesses that we own. Our portfolio is comprised of high quality securities that in most cases have very little borrowing, and most with exceptional management teams that are working for all long-term shareholders.
The Fund has entered this most recent period of market distress with a healthy cash position. We believe this helps protect shareholders on the downside, and allows the Fund to be thoughtful buyers as opportunities present themselves. While many are running for the exits in a panic, we can carefully add to positions, and keep close watch on our wish list as target prices come closer. This formula has served our shareholders well in the past and we believe will succeed again in the future.
We believe that the current selloff is being exacerbated by the recent rise of exchange traded funds (ETF's) and Index Funds - these funds have worked to convince the public that they can trade their way to wealth. However, in most cases, people's emotions will generally overrule their intellect - causing them to sell when losses become painful, and buy when the market is booming. This is obviously a recipe for disaster, and yet we see the cycle repeated over and over again. This presents opportunity for long-term investors like Wintergreen.
Wintergreen is the antithesis of this index centric model - we believe in the long-term ownership of securities, and therefore can use the distressed selling by these ETF's and index funds to augment our portfolio. It takes a great deal of fortitude to be a long-term investor in rocky markets, but a detailed understanding of our holdings, the experience of successfully investing through past market crashes and booms, and a very disciplined approach to value investing, should continue to serve our shareholders well.
Thank you for your continued interest and investment in Wintergreen Fund (Trades, Portfolio).
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES The views in this material were those of Fund management as of the date written and may be subject to change. This material should not be considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of any other funds or individual securities mentioned. The Fund is subject to several risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. Please review the prospectus for a complete discussion of the Fund’s risks which include, but are not limited to, the following: possible loss of principal amount invested, stock market risk, interest rate risk, income risk, credit risk, currency risk, and foreign/emerging market risk. 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. The S&P 500 Index is a broad based unmanaged index representing the performance of 500 widely held common stocks. The MSCI World Index is a capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. One cannot invest directly in an index. MSCI World Index - Copyright MSCI, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Unpublished. PROPRIETARY TO MSCI, INC. Morningstar - Copyright (c) 2015 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus and summary prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the Fund’s website at www.wintergreenfund.com. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before you invest.
