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Investment Management, Transfer Agent, and Other Fees
12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013
Text Block [Abstract]  
Investment Management, Transfer Agent, and Other Fees

Note 6. Investment Management, Transfer Agent, and Other Fees

The Company serves as investment adviser to USGIF and receives a fee based on a specified percentage of net assets under management. Two of the thirteen Funds within USGIF, Emerging Europe Fund and Global Emerging Markets Fund, are subadvised by a third party subadviser, Charlemagne Capital (IOM) Limited (“Charlemagne”), although the Company has primary day-to-day management of both Funds. On March 1, 2010, three Funds, MegaTrends Fund, Global Resources Fund and World Precious Minerals Fund, began offering institutional class shares.

 

The advisory agreement for the nine equity Funds provides for a base advisory fee that is adjusted upwards or downwards by 0.25 percent if there is a performance difference of 5 percent or more between a fund’s performance and that of its designated benchmark index over the prior rolling 12 months. For the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, the Company realized a decrease in its base advisory fee of $133,011 and $2,230,811, respectively, and for the year ended June 30, 2011, the Company realized an increase in its base advisory fees of $2,380,608.

Effective September 30, 2009, the Company agreed to voluntarily cap the expenses of all thirteen Funds. These caps will continue on a modified and voluntary basis at the Company’s discretion. Effective May 1, 2013, the Company agreed to contractually limit the expenses of the two fixed income funds and the institutional class of Global Resources Fund through April 30, 2014. The aggregate fees waived and expenses borne by the Company were $3,328,326, $3,132,831 and $3,131,906 in 2013, 2012 and 2011 respectively.

The above waived fees include amounts waived under an agreement whereby the Company has voluntarily agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse U.S. Treasury Securities Cash Fund and U.S. Government Securities Savings Fund to the extent necessary to maintain the respective Fund’s yield at a certain level as determined by the Company (Minimum Yield). For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed as a result of this agreement were $719,660 and $484,206 for the U.S. Treasury Securities Cash Fund and the U.S. Government Securities Savings Fund, respectively.

The Company may recapture any fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed within three years after the end of the Funds’ fiscal year of such waiver and/or reimbursement to the extent that such recapture would not cause the Funds’ yield to fall below the Minimum Yield. Thus, $1,562,956 of these waivers is recoverable by the Company through December 31, 2013; $1,604,076 through December 31, 2014; $1,245,458 through December 31, 2015; and $616,631 through December 31, 2016. Management believes these waivers could increase in the future. Such increases in fee waivers could be significant and will negatively impact the Company’s revenues and net income. Management cannot predict the impact of the waivers due to the number of variables and the range of potential outcomes.

The Company continues to provide advisory services to three offshore clients and receives a monthly advisory fee based on the net asset values of the clients and performance fees, if any, based on the overall increase in net asset values. The contracts between the Company and the offshore clients expire periodically, and management anticipates that its offshore clients will renew the contracts.

USSI also serves as transfer agent to USGIF and receives fees based on the number of shareholder accounts as well as transaction- and activity-based fees. The Company’s Board of Directors formally agreed on August 23, 2013, to exit the transfer agency business so that the Company could focus more on its core strength of investment management. On August 23, 2013, the Funds’ board of trustees agreed to continue the existing transfer agency contract with USSI until conversion to the new transfer agent, which is projected to be in December 2013. Additionally, the Company receives certain miscellaneous fees directly from USGIF shareholders. Included in transfer agent fees on the Statement of Operations are shareholder servicing fees based on the value of assets held through broker-dealer platforms. The Company will continue to receive the shareholder servicing fees.

The Company also receives distribution and administrative services fees form USGIF based on average net assets.