0001318342 2012-03-30 2012-03-30 0001318342 aristotlesaul:S000036254Member 2012-03-30 2012-03-30 0001318342 aristotlesaul:S000036254Member aristotlesaul:C000110965Member 2012-03-30 2012-03-30 iso4217:USD pure shares iso4217:USD shares 0001318342 Investment Managers Series Trust Other false SUMMARY SECTION   Aristotle/Saul Opportunity Fund Investment Objective The Aristotle/Saul Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to maximize long term capital appreciation and income. Fees and Expenses This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) <div style="display: none;"> ~ http://xbrl.sec.gov/rr/role/ShareholderFeesData column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact aristotlesaul_S000036254Member ~ </div> 0 0 -0.01 20.00 15.00 Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) <div style="display: none;"> ~ http://xbrl.sec.gov/rr/role/OperatingExpensesData column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact aristotlesaul_S000036254Member ~ </div> 0.009 0 0.0078 0.0168 -0.0043 0.0125 Example This example is intended to help you compare the costs of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds.   The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.   Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: <div style="display: none;"> ~ http://xbrl.sec.gov/rr/role/ExpenseExample column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact aristotlesaul_S000036254Member ~ </div> 127 488 Portfolio Turnover The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. The Fund is newly-created and, as a result, does not yet have a portfolio turnover rate. Principal Investment Strategies In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund seeks attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing in securities trading at significant discounts to their fair value. The Fund will generally invest its assets in equity securities that are listed on an exchange or that are otherwise publicly traded in the United States or in a foreign country. However, the Fund may also invest in a variety of other instruments traded in U.S. and foreign markets, including, but not limited to, fixed income securities, convertible securities, and unlisted equity securities. The Fund may also invest exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). In selecting investments for the Fund, the Fund’s investment advisor, Aristotle Capital Management, LLC (the “Advisor”), employs a fundamental, bottom-up approach. The Advisor focuses first on the quality of companies’ businesses and then considers whether the company’s securities are available at an attractive price. The Advisor considers both U.S. and foreign companies in seeking to identify potential investments for the Fund. The Fund generally will not seek to limit its exposure to U.S. or foreign issuers or markets to a specific percentage of its portfolio. The Fund will not limit the types of companies in which it will seek to invest its assets based on market capitalization. The Fund will generally hold its investments for the long-term.   In addition, the Fund may pursue tactical investment strategies from time to time, in order to seek favorable returns on securities that the Advisor believes are over-valued based on its assessment of their price. These tactical strategies may include, for example, short sales, warrants, futures, distressed debt, preferred securities, convertibles and options based on the Adviser’s assessment of the fair value of the instrument or, as applicable, the underlying or related instrument (e.g., the stock on which an option is purchased). The Fund may also pursue merger arbitrage opportunities in an effort to profit from any discount in the price of a target company’s stock prior to the closing of a merger.   The Fund generally seeks favorable performance relative to its benchmark, the MSCI World Index (net). However, the Advisor is not constrained by the composition of the MSCI World Index in selecting investments for the Fund.   When the Advisor believes that current market, economic, political or other conditions are unsuitable and would impair the pursuit of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, cash equivalents, or debt instruments issued by entities that carry an investment-grade rating by a national ratings agency. Principal Risks of Investing The Fund’s principal risks are mentioned below. Before you decide whether to invest in the Fund, carefully consider these risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause investors to lose money.   Market Risk. The market value of a security or instrument may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. The market value of a security or instrument also may decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.   Equity Risk. The value of the equity securities held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or factors relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests.   Fixed Income Risk. Prices of fixed income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect fixed income security prices and, accordingly, the Fund’s returns and share price. In addition, the Fund may be subject to “call” or “extension” risk. Call risk is the risk that, during a period of falling interest rates, the issuer may redeem a security by repaying it early, which may reduce the Fund’s income if the proceeds are reinvested at lower interest rates. Extension risk occurs during a rising interest rate environment because certain obligations will be paid off by an issuer more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of those securities held by the Fund to fall.   Convertible Securities Risk. The value of convertible securities may be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of their issuers, and the ability of those issuers to repay principal and to make interest payments.   Foreign Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund has investment exposure to foreign markets, the Fund’s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in such markets, including exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Emerging markets tend to be more volatile than the markets of more mature economies, and generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries.   Currency Risk. Investments in financial instruments related to or denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Similarly, investments that speculate on the appreciation of the U.S. dollar are subject to the risk that the U.S. dollar may decline in value relative to foreign currencies.   Short Sales Risk. In connection with establishing a short position in a security, the Fund is subject to the risk that it may not always be able to borrow a security, or to close out a short position at a particular time or at an acceptable price. If the price of the borrowed security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the security, the Fund will experience a loss.   Derivatives Risk. Derivatives include instruments and contracts that are based on, and are valued in relation to, one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks or indices, such as futures, options, swaps and forward contracts. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund may not correlate with the underlying instrument or the Fund’s other investments. Many of the risks applicable to investing in the instruments underlying derivatives are also applicable to derivatives trading. However, there are additional risks associated with derivatives trading that are possibly greater than the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying instruments. These additional risks include, but are not limited to illiquidity risk, operational leverage risk and counterparty credit risk. A small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the Fund’s performance.   Leveraging Risk. Certain transactions the Fund may undertake, including futures contracts and short positions in financial instruments, may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage creates exposure to gains and losses in a greater amount than the dollar amount made in an investment. Leverage can magnify the effects of changes in the value of the Fund’s investments and make the Fund more volatile. Relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of a leveraged investment. The potential loss on such leveraged investments may be substantial relative to the initial investment therein.   Asset Segregation Risk. As a series of an investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund must segregate or “earmark” on its books and records liquid assets, or engage in other measures to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of derivatives and short sales. The Fund may incur losses on derivatives and other leveraged investments (including the entire amount of the Fund’s investment in such investments) even if they are covered.   Below Investment Grade Risk. Debt securities rated below investment grade (often called “junk bonds”) generally have greater credit risk than higher-rated securities and are speculative in nature. Companies issuing high yield, fixed-income securities are less financially strong, are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and are more vulnerable to changes in the economy than those companies with higher credit ratings.   ETF Risk. ETFs typically trade on securities exchanges and their shares may, at times, trade at a premium or discount to their net asset values. In addition, an ETF may not replicate exactly the performance of the benchmark index it seeks to track for a number of reasons, including transaction costs incurred by the ETF, the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weighting of securities or the number of securities held. Investing in ETFs, which are investment companies, may involve duplication of advisory fees and certain other expenses.   Small- and Mid-Cap Company Risk. The Fund may invest in equity securities of companies of any size capitalization, including small-cap and mid-cap companies. The securities of small- or mid-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements and may have lower trading volumes or more erratic trading than securities of larger-sized companies or the market averages in general.   Management and Strategy Risk. Investment strategies employed by the Advisor in selecting investments for the Fund may not result in an increase in the value of your investment or in overall performance equal to other investments.   No Operating History. The Fund is a newly organized, diversified, series of an open-end management investment company and has no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decisions. Performance The Fund is new and it does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other mutual funds or broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information will be available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year. ARSOX "Other expenses" have been estimated for the current fiscal year. 2013-04-30 Before you decide whether to invest in the Fund, carefully consider these risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause investors to lose money. The Fund is new and it does not have a full calendar year performance record to compare against other mutual funds or broad measures of securities market performance such as indices. Performance information will be available after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year. 2012-03-30 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 "Other expenses" have been estimated for the current fiscal year. The Fund's advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or absorb expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (excluding taxes, leverage interest, brokerage commissions, dividend and interest expenses on short sales, acquired fund fees and expenses as determined in accordance with Form N-1A, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, or extraordinary expenses such as litigation) do not exceed 1.25% of average daily net assets of Class I shares of the Fund. This agreement is in effect until April 30, 2013, and it may be terminated before that date only by the Trust's Board of Trustees. The Fund's advisor is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund, subject to limitations, for fees it waived and Fund expenses it paid for three years from the date of any such waiver or payment.