0001318342 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0001318342 imstoakseed:S000039530Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0001318342 imstoakseed:S000039530Member imstoakseed:C000121848Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0001318342 imstoakseed:S000039530Member imstoakseed:C000121847Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 iso4217:USD pure shares iso4217:USD shares 0001318342 Investment Managers Series Trust 485BPOS false SUMMARY SECTION<hr size="2" style="color: Black; width: 100%"/> Oakseed Opportunity Fund Investment Objective The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long term capital appreciation. Fees and Expenses of the Fund 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) 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/ShareholderFeesData column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstoakseed_S000039530Member ~ </div> 0 0 0 20.00 15.00 15.00 0 0 0 20.00 15.00 15.00 <div style="display: none;"> ~ http://xbrl.sec.gov/rr/role/OperatingExpensesData column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact imstoakseed_S000039530Member ~ </div> 0.0095 0.0025 0.0088 0.0001 0.0209 -0.0068 0.0141 0.0095 0 0.0088 0.0001 0.0184 -0.0068 0.0116 Example This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost 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 imstoakseed_S000039530Member ~ </div> 144 589 118 513 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 Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest primarily in U.S. equity securities. The Fund’s investments in equity securities may include common stocks, preferred stocks, and warrants. The Fund’s advisor focuses on companies that it believes to be undervalued by the general market. The Fund may invest in any size company, including small- and medium-sized companies. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities, either directly or through the use of American Depository Receipts ("ADRs"), which are receipts that represent interests in foreign securities held on deposit by U.S. banks. In addition, the Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), which are pooled investment vehicles that generally seek to track the performance of specific indices and are traded on exchanges. In investing the Fund's assets, the advisor uses four key components to identify investments. First, the advisor identifies companies that it believes are high quality businesses, ( i.e., companies that have an underlying competitive advantage compared to their competitors, high returns or returns that are improving, and long-term secular growth ) . Second, the Fund’s a dvisor purchases securities of these high quality companies at what it believes are compelling valuations by waiting patiently for a decline in the prices of their securities caused by a decline in the overall equity markets, a specific industry, or a specific negative company event. The third component the Fund’s advisor considers is the alignment of shareholders and management. The advisor seeks to determine this by scrutinizing the company’s corporate history, identifying companies that reward management teams based on performance, and avoiding dual class stockholder structures. Finally, the Fund’s Advisor employs discipline, patience, and temperament to take advantage of short-term volatility for long-term gains, often investing in companies for three to five years. The Fund may also use derivative instruments, primarily writing (i.e., selling) put options on individual securities, indexes and ETFs, to manage the position size of individual security holdings, enhance the Fund’s return and reduce volatility. The Fund will generally invest in derivatives to manage underlying equity exposures while seeking to maximize the efficiency of invested capital and expected return. When evaluating options, the Fund’s advisor considers the amount of premium received or invested (which is a function of the implied volatility of the underlying security, the strike price, and the time to expiration), the valuation of the underlying security at the exercise price, the weighting of the security in the portfolio if exercised, and the expiration date. 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 you to lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. Market Risk. The Fund’s share price may be affected by a sudden decline in the market value of an investment, or by an overall decline in the stock market. Equity Securities 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. Value-Oriented Investment Strategy Risk. Value stocks are those that in the opinion of the Fund’s advisor are undervalued in comparison to their peers due to adverse business developments or other factors. Value investing involves the risk that the market will not recognize a security’s inherent value for a long time, or that a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced or overvalued. Therefore, the Fund is most suitable for long-term investors who are willing to hold their shares for extended periods of time through market fluctuations and the accompanying changes in share prices. Small- and Mid-Cap Company Risk. The securities of small- or mid-capitalization 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 companies or the market averages in general. In addition, such companies typically are subject to a greater degree of change in earnings and business prospects than are larger, more established companies. Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stock represents an equity interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of other stocks such as common stocks, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company. Preferred stock is subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities and is sensitive to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness and to changes in interest rates, and may decline in value if interest rates rise. Warrants Risk. Warrants may lack a liquid secondary market for resale. The prices of warrants may fluctuate as a result of speculation or other factors. If the price of the underlying stock does not rise above the exercise price before a warrant expires, the warrant generally expires without any value and the Fund loses any amount it paid for the warrant. Foreign Investment Risk. The prices of foreign securities may be more volatile than the securities of U.S. issuers because of economic and social conditions abroad, political developments, and changes in the regulatory environment of foreign countries. In addition, changes in exchange rates and interest rates may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s foreign investments. Foreign companies are generally subject to different legal and accounting standards than U.S. companies, and foreign financial intermediaries may be subject to less supervision and regulation than U.S. financial firms. The Fund’s investments in depository receipts are also subject to these risks. 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. Options Risk. The value of the Fund’s positions in options on individual equity securities, indices, and ETFs will fluctuate in response to changes in the values of the assets they track and may be subject to greater fluctuations in value than investments in the underlying assets. The risk involved in selling a put option is that the market value of the underlying security could decrease and the option could be exercised, obligating the seller of the put option to buy the underlying security from the purchaser at an exercise price that is higher than its prevailing market price. The selling of options is a highly specialized activity that entails greater than ordinary investment risks. Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. The Fund’s advisor applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. Performance The Fund is new and 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. SEEDX SEDEX "Other expenses" and "acquired fund fees and expenses" have been estimated for the current fiscal year. "Other expenses" and "acquired fund fees and expenses" have been estimated for the current fiscal year. 2014-04-30 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 you to lose part or all of your investment in the Fund. The Fund is new and 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. 2012-12-31 2012-12-26 2012-12-31 2012-12-26 "Other expenses" and "acquired fund fees and expenses" have been estimated for the current fiscal year. The Fund's advisor has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (excluding taxes, leverage interest, brokerage commissions, dividend 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 expenses) do not exceed 1.40% and 1.15% of the average daily net assets of the Fund's Investor Class and Institutional Class shares, respectively. This agreement is in effect until April 30, 2014, and 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 reimbursed for three years from the date of any such waiver or reimbursement.