May, 2014 - In This Issue:

 

Mother's Day 2014

 

From the Desk of Alan Salzbank
Alan Salzbank, Fund Manager, Riverpark Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund
Alan Salzbank, Portfolio Manager
  This past Sunday, mothers everywhere enjoyed a well-deserved day in their honor, complete with breakfasts-in-bed, flowers and cards, and an endless variety of gifts from their children. Although we all know that we can never fully repay our mothers for all that they have given to us over the years, I am struck from time to time by how many of my mother's gifts are still with me today - gifts that came in the form of lessons taught to a child, but that would become the foundations of my professional philosophy. So, for anyone who has ever been told to "clear their plate," or "turn the lights off when you leave the room," this Mother's Day I present the top 5 investing lessons as taught to me by Claire Salzbank of blessed memory.

 

 

1. Tell the truth. (Often stated as: "Honesty is the best policy").

 

First of all, Mom always finds out if you don't, but, more importantly, honesty and trust are the foundation upon which all lasting relationships are built. As a portfolio manager, this has always meant providing the highest level of transparency and forthrightness to our investors. Being truthful often means not taking the easy way out - after all, every month is not going to bring success, nor will every trade turn out to be a winner, and nobody likes to hear about losses. Then again, it wasn't easy to own up to breaking the living room lamp when I was nine either, but it was certainly the best policy.

 

2. Be yourself.

 

This piece of advice is deceptively simple. After all, what can we be but ourselves? Well, quite a few things, it turns out. It is easy to be ourselves when we find that we are in agreement with everyone, but another matter entirely when being ourselves means doing things differently. In the investment world, the herd mentality is strong, and there is great temptation to chase the hot trend or trade du jour. Fear of missing out and fear of underperformance can be powerful motivators - there is safety in the herd. But anytime I find myself the least bit inclined to deviate from the strategies I believe in because everyone else is doing something different, I can still here my mother say: "Everyone? If everyone is jumping off the bridge..."

 

3. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. ("Mistakes are how you learn.")

 

Without mistakes, there would be no innovation. If we live in constant fear of being wrong, we also prevent ourselves from being right. Sure, in retrospect we wish we had not owned Best Buy (-34%) in the first quarter, but without the willingness to buy value stocks we would also not have had a position in Green Plains Renewable Energy (+55%). Of course, there is an important difference between being willing to take risks and taking too much risk - that is why we hedge.

 

4. Pay attention.

 

How many times did each of us hear this admonishment from our mothers while growing up? It was usually delivered when, unsurprisingly, we were not paying attention to something important. As a Portfolio Manager, attention to detail is vital. Market volatility is a daily phenomenon that requires continual hedging to maintain a portfolio's desired risk/reward profile.

 

5. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

 

For investors and portfolio managers alike, this translates into one thing: diversification. We believe that all investment strategies must be diversified and confirmed by favorable, long-term investment results. Diversification is one of the keys to managing risk both within asset classes and across portfolio allocations. It is what differentiates investment from speculation.

 

These 5 lessons have served me well over the course of a 35-year career in finance, and to them I would add just one more: Always remember to say: "Thanks, mom."

RiverPark/Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund Passes $50MM AUM
Thanks to our Friends and Investors

Dear Friends and Investors,

 

Gargoyle is excited to announce that the RiverPark/Gargoyle Hedged Value Fund recently exceeded $50 million in assets under management.  The growth of the fund's assets over its first two years as a 40-Act Fund has been very encouraging to our investment team and has bolstered our long-term business plan.

 

Thanks to advisors, investors and supporters like you, we are realizing our goal of making RGHVX/RGHIX a foundational part of our firm's total advisory and management asset base of over $500,000,000.

 

Whether you have advised clients to invest, have invested yourself or have merely considered an investment in our Fund, we want you to know that we appreciate the confidence you have placed in Gargoyle's professionals as we offer hedged alternatives to long equity exposure.  We look forward to continued growth in assets over the coming years as new investors come to understand the potential benefits of Gargoyle's Hedged Value approach to investing. Thank you once again for your support.

 

Sincerely,

Alan Salzbank and Josh Parker

Fund Managers

Annualized performance since inception of the Mutual Fund (4/30/12) was 21.11% for RGHIX and 20.81% for RGHVX.

*Total returns presented for periods less than one year are cumulative, returns for periods one year and greater are annualized. Inception date was December 31, 1999.

**Morningstar L/S Equity Category Returns sourced from Morningstar Principia.

The performance quoted herein represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. High short-term performance of the Fund is unusual and investors should not expect such performance to be repeated. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost, and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call 888.564.4517.

The performance data quoted for periods prior to April 30, 2012 is that of the Predecessor Fund. The Fund will be managed in a materially equivalent manner to its predecessor. The Predecessor Fund was not a registered mutual fund and was not subject to the same investment and tax restrictions as the Fund. If the annual returns for the predecessor partnership were charged the same fees and expenses as the Fund, the annual returns for the predecessor partnership would have been higher.

*** RiverPark Advisors, LLC, the Fund's investment adviser, has agreed contractually to waive its fees and to reimburse expenses of the Fund to the extent necessary to ensure that operating expenses do not exceed, on an annual basis, 1.25% for the Institutional Class Shares and 1.50% for the Retail Class Shares of the Fund's average net assets. Gross Fund expenses are 1.16% for the Institutional Class and 1.44% for the Retail Class. This agreement is in effect until at least January 31, 2015, and subject to annual approval by the Board of Trustees of RiverPark Funds Trust. The expense ratios stated are as of the most recent prospectus, dated January 28, 2014.


Alan Salzbank
201-227-2208

GARGOYLE INVESTMENT ADVISOR L.L.C. -
Your best option for value and performance


Gargolye Investment Advisor L.L.C. - Your best option for Insight

www.gargoylegroup.com 

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