Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers here to the questions investors ask most frequently.
Scroll down to find an answer to your question here. If your question is not addressed here, please e-mail us at [email protected] or call our customer service team at 1.800.915.6566 Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time
Q. How do I invest in the Guinness Atkinson Funds?
A: You can invest either through your broker or, if you prefer, you can invest directly with us. To invest direct, you’ll need to complete the new account form and send your check to the Funds’ transfer agent, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services. For more information on investing direct please see the Invest With Us Page.
Q. Can I fund my account with a wire instead of a check?
A. Yes. The new account application form has instructions on how to establish your account and fund it by wire.
Q. Do you offer systematic withdrawals?
A. Yes. Please call our customer service team for information on how to establish this feature. Call 1.800.915.6566 Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time
Q. Can I make regular investments into the Funds?
A. Yes, we offer a systematic investment plan. You can invest on a regular basis (monthly or quarterly at your option). Once established the investment amount you choose is automatically invested with the funds coming direct from your bank account. An automatic investment plan can be a great way to help build your account over time. The form to initiate the automatic investment plan is contained in the new account application. If you need help on this please feel free to call our customer service team at 800 915-6566. Note that this feature is not available for the Renmimbi Yuan & Bond Fund.
Q. What if I need to make a change to my account?
A. Our customer service team is standing by to assist you. Please give them a call at 800 915-6566. We are not able to process account changes or transactions via email but our team is more than willing to help you with whatever need you may have.
Q. What do I do if I need to make a redemption?
A. Most shareholders have telephone redemption privileges. A call to our customer service team at 800 915-6566 is the easiest way to initiate a redemption. If you have not signed up for telephone redemption our customer service team will walk you through the necessary steps to process a redemption.
Q. Do you offer a money market fund?
A. A money market fund is available for exchange purposes, meaning if you wish to move to a cash investment we have one available. Please call our customer service team at 800 915-6566 for more information or to make an exchange.
Q. Can you tell me about expectations for year-end dividends? I’d like to do some year-end tax planning.
A. We typically post year-end distribution estimates in October or November and then update these estimates if necessary as the year draws to a close. Please note that these estimates are subject to change and the final dividend distributions may vary from the estimates. The final dividend amounts are posted a few days before year-end. Information on quarterly and year-end dividends is available here.
Q. Do you offer electronic statements?
A. At the moment, no. We are planning to initiate electronic delivery of statements at some point in the future.
Q. Where can I find performance information on the Guinness Atkinson Funds?
A. The Our Funds page has up to date performance including total returns and Morningstar Ratings.
Q. Are the Guinness Atkinson Funds considered load or no-load?
A. All of the Guinness Atkinson Funds are no-load, which means there is no commission or charge to purchase the Guinness Atkinson Funds. This does not mean that there are no management fees or other expenses. Some brokers may charge a transaction fee for some of the Guinness Atkinson Funds. Also, there is a short-term redemption fee of 2% for shares held for 30 days or less.
Q. Why is there a redemption fee?
A. The Guinness Atkinson Funds are meant for long-term investors. The redemption fee (2% for 30 days) is meant to both discourage active trading in the Guinness Atkinson Funds and to compensate the remaining investors for activity based charges incurred by the Fund.
Q. What do you mean by human progress? And why is it important to investing?
A. We believe that it is difficult to invest successfully without a view regarding the direction we are heading, and by “we,” we mean the entire world. There are a handful of very important long-term secular trends underway that are quite clearly reshaping the planet. These changes have political, social, cultural, economic and, importantly for us, investment implications. The breakneck speed of business and innovation, the dramatic and stunning rise of China and Asia, the increasing demands for energy on a global scale and the inexorable shift to alternative energy are just some of the forces that are profoundly reshaping the world around us. We’re not sure how—or why—one would invest without thinking about these broad themes and factoring the implications of this change into their thinking.
Further, while we understand that rapid change can be unsettling, the hidden truth in these changes is that the human condition continues to improve. Yes, we know the news media sometimes offers a steady drumbeat of negative news and we acknowledge that there are some very serious issues confronting us. We also acknowledge that for a large portion of the world life is nothing short of terrible. We’ve always had serious problems to tackle and there has always been a large portion of the world for which life is extreme. Yet despite the negative drumbeat the human condition continues to improve. How do we know? Almost any measure of the human condition is on an upward arc. Infant mortality rates, life expectancy, leisure time, per capita GDP, literacy, access to education, information and health care and a host of other key metrics have never been as high as now. Quite frankly, there has never been a better time to be a human.
Q. How do you keep investors up to date?
A. In addition to this website we offer an email program featuring a series of monthly eBriefs produced by our asset management team. We offer the following eBriefs: Energy Brief, Asia Brief, Alternative Energy Brief and the Dividend Brief. These eBriefs are designed to provide our most current thinking about the broad themes as well as the current outlook and update on the holdings within the Funds. We maintain an archive of these eBriefs so that readers can see what we were thinking in the past. Whether you’re an investor in our Funds or just interested in our views on these themes you’re encouraged to sign up to receive the eBriefs of your choice. We also offer a daily or weekly (Friday) email with the day’s prices.
Q. If I sign up for these eBriefs will you start sending me a bunch of email?
A. No. Each eBrief subscription will mean approximately one email per month. We generally send one or two additional emails per year. And, of course, we don’t share our email list with anyone.
Q. What if I have a question that isn’t covered here?
A. Feel free to send an email to [email protected]. We like hearing from investors and welcome the opportunity to address any inquiries.
Q. I see you have an alternative energy fund. Who do I speak with if I have an alternative energy project that needs funding?
A. The Guinness Atkinson Funds invest in publicly traded companies. We are not in a position to provide funding for projects, startups or other non-publicly traded investment vehicles. If your company is a publicly traded alternative energy company then it is almost certainly already known to our investment management team. If it is a project or venture capital idea then we are not able to consider it.
Automatic Investment Plans do not assure a profit and do not protect against a loss in declining markets.
An investment in a money market fund is neither insured nor guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although money market funds seek to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in a money market fund.