Frequently Asked Questions

For help with any questions you don't find answers to here, please contact us.

What are the symbols and cusip numbers for the Hennessy Funds?

What is the minimum investment for each of the Hennessy Funds?
The minimum investment for each of the Hennessy Funds Original Class shares is $2,500 for a regular account and $250 for an IRA account. For Institutional Class shares the minimum initial investment is $250,000, however, it may be waived for certain fee-based or retirement plans.

Will the minimum be waived if I apply for an Automatic Deposit plan?
No. At this time we do not waive the minimum investment amount if you start an automatic deposit plan.

What is the minimum for an automatic deposit and or withdrawal?
The minimum is $100 per transaction for automatic deposit or automatic withdrawal.

What is the annual fee for an IRA opened directly with Hennessy Funds?
Our transfer agent charges $15.00 per account per year for the maintenance of IRA accounts. There is a maximum charge of $30.00 per social security number. These charges help cover the cost of reporting IRA accounts to the government. These fees can be pre-paid, or they will be deducted from your account annually, generally in October or November.

Do any fees result if I exchange funds within a fund family?
There is no charge for exchanges between the Hennessy Funds.

Is there a fee if I redeem my shares?
No

What is a signature guarantee and when do I need one?
A signature guarantee is an assurance from a financial institution that indicates the signature of the person making a request is true and correct. The guarantor assumes liability for circumstances that arise from a signature that is proved to be invalid. A signature guarantee is not the same as a notarized signature, and they may be obtained from most banks and financial institutions.

To protect the Funds and their shareholders, a signature guarantee is required in the following situations:
• The redemption request includes a change of address, or a change of address request was received by the Transfer Agent within the last 30 days;
• The redemption proceeds are to be sent to a person, address or bank account not on record;
• IRA transfer;
• When establishing or modifying certain services on the account;
• Account ownership is changed;
• The redemption request is over $100,000.
The Funds and/or the Transfer Agent may require a signature guarantee in other instances where directions contradict the information held in our files.

Can I get my confirmations and statements electronically?
We are currently working to provide confirmations and statements electronically for our shareholders. We will update our website when this function is available. We currently offer shareholders the ability to view their account on-line or to access account information via an automated phone system at 1-800-261-6950.

When are the Funds rebalanced?
The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund, Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund, Series II, Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund, and Hennessy Focus 30 Fund each have annual rebalance dates. The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund and Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund are rebalanced in the Winter. The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund, Series II is rebalanced in the Summer. The Hennessy Focus 30 Fund is rebalanced in the Fall. The Hennessy Balanced and Hennessy Total Return Funds invest once each month and hold those investments for approximately one year.

Why aren’t the rebalance dates announced in advance?
Our Fund portfolios hold substantial positions in the securities that meet our formulas. When we rebalance, we sell our position in each security that no longer meets our investment criteria and then purchase positions in the new securities prescribed by our investment strategy. Such large sales and purchases have the potential of affecting the market prices of the securities. Therefore, we disclose a general rebalance window but will not give specific dates. Were we to “tip our hand”, it might be possible for unscrupulous individuals to “front run” our trading, thus diminishing our ability to achieve the best possible returns for our shareholders.

Why don’t you sell a security when it loses value or is downgraded by securities analysts?
Were we to sell our security positions based on a sudden drop in price or an overall downgrading by analysts we would not be following our formula driven investment strategy. We do not invest based on emotion. Doing so would be contrary to our disciplined investment approach. We believe that over time, opportunities to out perform the market come from the strict adherence to our proven investment formulas. We do not react to short-term market fluctuations.

If your Funds rebalance annually, why do some Fund portfolios have a turnover rate in excess of 100%?
During the course of the year it may be necessary to purchase or sell additional shares of the underlying securities of the Funds in order to satisfy new Fund purchases or redemptions. When they are rebalanced, several Funds may experience a 100% stock turnover. In conjunction with the buys and sells necessary to keep up with subscriptions and redemptions the total turnover rate may exceed 100%.

Do you release the list of portfolio holdings lists for your Funds?
Yes. Contact us and we would be pleased to send you a list of the stocks in our portfolios. We do not generally release portfolio holding information until after our quarterly SEC 13F reports have been filed, and we are cautious about releasing such information too near to a Fund’s rebalance date (please see “When are funds rebalanced?” above). Stock lists are generally available a number of days after the end of each calendar quarter.

Why and when do the Funds make distributions?
By law all registered mutual funds must pass their taxes on to their fund shareholders. Capital gains distributions for each of the Hennessy Funds (if any) are paid out once annually usually in November or December. Capital gains may be long or short term or a combination of both. While we try to minimize taxes our shareholders pay, and to cause gains to be long-term, our first priority is to manage our portfolios to maximize returns to shareholders.

The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth, Hennessy Cornerstone Growth, Series II, Hennessy Focus 30 and Hennessy Cornerstone Value Funds will make distributions of dividends (if any) once annually, usually in November or December. The Hennessy Total Return and Hennessy Balanced Funds will make distributions of dividends and net investment income quarterly, usually in March, June, September and December.