485BPOS 2012-08-31 0000277585 2012-12-31 BARRETT OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. false 2012-12-21 2012-12-31 The Fund is classified as "non-diversified," which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in a small number of issuers than a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests its assets in fewer issuers, the Fund will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those issuers. <tt>The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and <br />sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio <br />turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher <br />taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These transaction costs <br />and potentially higher taxes, which are not reflected in annual fund <br />operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. <br />During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate <br />was 4.04% of the average value of its portfolio.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.barrettassett.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000008740Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.barrettassett.com/role/BarChartData_S000008740Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>Barrett Opportunity Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") seeks to achieve above average<br />long-term capital appreciation.</tt> <tt>This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund<br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes: <br /><br />&#xB7;&#xA0;&#xA0;You invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated<br /><br />&#xB7;&#xA0;&#xA0;Your investment has a 5% return each year and the Fund's operating expenses <br />&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;remain the same</tt> reflects no deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes <tt>The Fund's investment objectives are not fundamental and may be changed by the<br />Board of Directors upon 60 days' written notice to holders of the Fund's common<br />shares. <br /><br />The Fund invests primarily in common stocks and securities convertible into or<br />exchangeable for common stock such as convertible preferred stock or convertible<br />debt securities. <br /><br />The Fund may invest without limit in securities of issuers located in the United<br />States, as well as other securities that are publicly traded in the United<br />States, including sponsored American Depositary Receipts. <br /><br />The Fund may also invest up to 5% of its net assets in foreign securities that<br />are not publicly traded in the United States. <br /><br />The Fund may also invest without limit in fixed-income securities (including up<br />to 5% of its net assets in fixed-income securities that are high yield, lower<br />quality securities rated by a rating organization below its top four long-term<br />rating categories (i.e., below investment grade securities, commonly referred to<br />as "junk bonds")) or unrated securities determined by the Adviser (as defined<br />below) to be of equivalent quality.</tt> BARRETT OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC. <tt>Current income is a secondary objective.</tt> Example The after-tax returns, are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Investment Objectives The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. Principal Risks Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: In certain cases, the figure representing "Return After Taxes and Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares" may be higher than the other return figures for the same period. A higher after-tax return results when a capital loss occurs upon redemption and provides an annual tax deduction that benefits the investor. 0.0404 Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs"). Calendar Year Returns (before taxes) Performance <tt>The after-tax returns, are calculated using the historical highest <br />individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the <br />impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on <br />an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the <br />after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their <br />Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans <br />or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs"). In certain cases, the <br />figure representing "Return After Taxes and Distributions and Sale <br />of Fund Shares" may be higher than the other return figures for the <br />same period. A higher after-tax return results when a capital loss <br />occurs upon redemption and provides an annual tax deduction that <br />benefits the investor.</tt> The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year. The table shows the average annual total returns of the Fund for 1, 5, and 10 years and also compares the Fund's performance with the average annual total returns of an index or other benchmark. <tt>The Fund's calendar year-to-date return as of September 30, 2012 <br />was 8.21%. During the period shown in the bar chart, the best <br />performance for a quarter was 15.98% (for the quarter ended <br />September 30, 2009) and the worst performance was -25.66% (for <br />the quarter ended December 31, 2008).</tt> 877-363-6333 Annual Fund Operating Expense (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Average Annual Total Returns (for Periods Ended December 31, 2011) Portfolio turnover. <tt>Risk is inherent in all investing. There is no assurance that the Fund <br />will meet its investment objectives. The value of your investment in the <br />Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may <br />fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in <br />the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar <br />investments. The following is a summary description of certain risks of <br />investing in the Fund.<br /> <br />Stock market and equity securities risk. The securities markets are volatile <br />and the market prices of the Fund's securities may decline generally. Securities<br />fluctuate in price based on changes in a company's financial condition and<br />overall market and economic conditions. If the market prices of the securities<br />owned by the Fund fall, the value of your investment in the Fund will decline.<br /> <br />Issuer risk. The value of a security can go up or down more than the market <br />as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole, <br />often due to disappointing earnings reports by the issuer, unsuccessful <br />products or services, loss of major customers, major litigation against the <br />issuer or changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or the <br />competitive environment. The Fund may experience a substantial or complete <br />loss on an individual security. Historically, the prices of securities of <br />small and medium capitalization companies have generally gone up or down more <br />than those of large capitalization companies, although even large capitalization <br />companies may fall out of favor with investors.<br /> <br />Liquidity risk. Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell, or<br />illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Illiquid securities may<br />also be difficult to value. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to<br />meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the Fund may be forced to sell at<br />a loss.<br /> <br />Foreign investments risk. The Fund's investments in securities of foreign <br />issuers involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. <br />Foreign countries in which the Fund may invest may have markets that are less <br />liquid and more volatile than U.S. markets and may suffer from political or <br />economic instability. In some foreign countries, less information is available <br />about issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory <br />standards than in the United States. Currency fluctuations could erase investment <br />gains or add to investment losses.<br /> <br />Portfolio selection risk. The value of your investment may decrease if the<br />portfolio managers' judgment about the attractiveness, value or market trends<br />affecting a particular security, industry or sector or about market movements is<br />incorrect.<br /> <br />Value investing risk. The value approach to investing involves the risk that<br />stocks may remain undervalued. Value stocks may underperform the overall equity<br />market while the market concentrates on growth stocks. Although the Fund will<br />not concentrate its investments in any one industry or industry group, it may,<br />like many value funds, weight its investments toward certain industries, thus<br />increasing its exposure to factors adversely affecting issuers within those<br />industries.<br /> <br />Non-diversification risk. The Fund is classified as "non-diversified," which<br />means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in a small number of<br />issuers than a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests its assets in<br />fewer issuers, the Fund will be more susceptible to negative events affecting<br />those issuers.<br /> <br />Risk of increase in expenses. Your actual costs of investing in the Fund may be<br />higher than the expenses shown in "Annual fund operating expenses" under "Fees<br />and Expenses of the Fund" for a variety of reasons. For example, expense ratios<br />may be higher than those shown if average net assets decrease. Net assets are<br />more likely to decrease and fund expense ratios are more likely to increase when<br />markets are volatile. Additionally, a higher portfolio turnover may indicate<br />higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in<br />a taxable account.<br /> <br />Net unrealized appreciation. The Fund currently has a substantial amount of net<br />unrealized appreciation. At November 15, 2012, the amount of the net unrealized<br />appreciation was $50,926,233, representing approximately 85% of the Fund's net<br />assets. The Adviser no longer pursues a strategy of retaining unrealized<br />long-term capital gain and avoiding the tax impact of realizing such gain. <br />Subject to market conditions and Fund performance, the Adviser anticipates<br />that, in managing the Fund's investment portfolio in pursuit of the Fund's<br />investment objectives, a moderate portion of the Fund's current built-in<br />long-term capital gains will be realized gradually in each of the next several<br />years. If these long-term capital gains are realized as anticipated, this will<br />result in an increase in the Fund's annual distributions of net capital gains<br />and, accordingly, an increase in taxable distributions to shareholders to the<br />extent there are no offsetting losses. To provide additional flexibility to<br />respond to changing market conditions and to possible future changes in the<br />treatment of capital gains under federal tax law, including any increase in the<br />current federal capital gains tax rate, the Board of Directors has authorized<br />the Adviser to increase the total amount of the Fund's current built-in<br />long-term capital gains that may be realized in any one year from 10% to<br />15%. See "Dividends, Distributions and Taxes."<br /> <br />These risks are discussed in more detail later in this Prospectus or in the<br />Statement of Additional Information (the "SAI").</tt> Fees and Expenses of the Fund Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, Principal Investment Strategies <tt>The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of<br />investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance<br />from year to year. The table shows the average annual total returns of the <br />Fund for 1, 5, and 10 years and also compares the Fund's performance with <br />the average annual total returns of an index or other benchmark. Updated <br />performance information is available by calling the Fund at 877-363-6333.<br /><br />The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an<br />indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.</tt> <tt>The table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy <br />and hold shares of the Fund.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.barrettassett.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000008740Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.barrettassett.com/role/PerformanceTableData_S000008740Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> S&P 500® Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes) 0.0211 -0.0025 0.0292 Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares -0.0211 -0.0426 0.0145 Return after taxes on distributions -0.0721 -0.0619 0.0084 SAOPX -0.1600 worst performance best performance 2012-09-30 Return before taxes 124 2009-09-30 387 -0.2566 0.1265 0.1492 1477 670 0.0707 0.1598 -0.0591 0.0052 -0.4211 0.0070 2008-12-31 0.1649 -0.0483 0.1141 year-to-date return -0.0591 0.2351 0.00 0.0196 0.0122 0.1940 0.0821 0000277585 ck0000277585:SummaryS000008740Memberck0000277585:S000008740Memberck0000277585:C000023798Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0000277585 ck0000277585:SummaryS000008740Memberck0000277585:S000008740Memberrr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsMemberck0000277585:C000023798Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0000277585 ck0000277585:SummaryS000008740Memberck0000277585:S000008740Memberrr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsAndSalesMemberck0000277585:C000023798Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0000277585 ck0000277585:SummaryS000008740Memberck0000277585:S000008740Memberck0000277585:RRINDEX00001Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0000277585 ck0000277585:SummaryS000008740Memberck0000277585:S000008740Member 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 0000277585 2012-12-31 2012-12-31 pure iso4217:USD