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Institutional Class Prospectus | Kinetics Paradigm Fund
Kinetics Paradigm Fund
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the Paradigm Fund is long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Paradigm Fund.
SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees
Institutional Class Prospectus
Kinetics Paradigm Fund
Institutional Class
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for 30 days or less, if applicable) 2.00%
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Institutional Class Prospectus
Kinetics Paradigm Fund
Institutional Class
Management Fees 1.25% [1]
Other Expenses 0.45%
Shareholder Servicing Fees 0.20%
Other Operating Expenses 0.25%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.70%
Less: Fee Waiver (0.26%) [2]
Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.44%
[1] This table and the example below reflect the aggregate expenses of the Paradigm Fund and the Paradigm Portfolio. The management fees paid by the Paradigm Fund reflect the proportionate share of fees allocated to the Paradigm Fund from the Paradigm Portfolio.
[2] Kinetics Asset Management LLC, the investment adviser to the Paradigm Portfolio of the Kinetics Portfolio Trust (the "Investment Adviser"), has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse the Paradigm Fund the portion of the shareholder servicing fee in excess of 0.05% of average daily net assets at until at least May 1, 2018. In addition, the Investment Adviser to the Paradigm Portfolio has agreed to waive management fees and reimburse Fund expenses so that Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not exceed 1.44%, excluding acquired fund fees and expenses ("AFFE"). These waivers and reimbursements are in effect until May 1, 2018, and may not be terminated without the approval of the Board.
Example.
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Paradigm Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  This Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Paradigm Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of these periods.  The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Paradigm Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (taking into account the expense limitations only in the first year).
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your cost for the Paradigm Fund would be:
Expense Example
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Institutional Class Prospectus | Kinetics Paradigm Fund | Institutional Class | USD ($) 147 510 899 1,987
Portfolio Turnover.
The Paradigm Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio).  A higher portfolio turnover rate 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 Paradigm Portfolio’s, and therefore the Paradigm Fund’s, performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Paradigm Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 2% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategy
The Paradigm Fund is a non-diversified fund that invests all of its investable assets in the Paradigm Portfolio, a series of Kinetics Portfolios Trust.  Under normal circumstances, the Paradigm Portfolio invests at least 65% of its net assets in common stocks, exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), convertible securities, warrants and other equity securities having the characteristics of common stocks (such as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and International Depositary Receipts (“IDRs”)) of U.S. and foreign companies that the Investment Adviser believes are undervalued, that have, or are expected to soon have, high returns on equity and that are well positioned to reduce their costs, extend the reach of their distribution channels and experience significant growth in their assets or revenues. The Paradigm Portfolio will carry out its investment strategy by regarding the investments as representing fractional ownership in the underlying companies’ assets.  This will allow the Paradigm Portfolio, and therefore the Paradigm Fund, to attempt to achieve its investment objective by acting as a classic value investor seeking high returns on equity, an intrinsic characteristic of the investment, not a reappraisal of a company’s stock value by the market, an external factor.  The Paradigm Portfolio may also purchase and write options for hedging purposes and/or direct investment.

The Paradigm Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its total assets in convertible and non-convertible debt securities rated below investment grade, also known as junk bonds, or unrated securities that the Investment Adviser has determined to be of comparable quality. The Paradigm Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in companies located in emerging markets.

The Investment Adviser selects portfolio securities by evaluating a company’s positioning and traditional business lines as well as its ability to expand its activities or achieve competitive advantage in cost/profitability and brand image leveraging.  The Investment Adviser also considers a company’s fundamentals by reviewing its balance sheets, corporate revenues, earnings and dividends.  The Paradigm Portfolio may invest in companies of any size, including small and medium-size companies.  Additionally, the Paradigm Portfolio may participate in securities lending arrangements up to 33-1/3% of the securities in its portfolio with brokers, dealers, and financial institutions (but not individuals) in order to increase the return on its portfolio.

Sell decisions are generally triggered by either adequate value being achieved, as determined by the Investment Adviser, or by an adverse change in a company’s operating performance or a deterioration of the company’s business model.  A sell trigger may also occur if the Investment Adviser discovers a new investment opportunity that it believes is more compelling and represents a greater risk reward profile than other investment(s) held by the Paradigm Portfolio.
Principal Investment Risks
Investing in common stocks has inherent risks that could cause you to lose money.  The principal risks of investing in the Paradigm Fund, and indirectly the Paradigm Portfolio, are listed below and could adversely affect the net asset value (“NAV”), total return and value of the Paradigm Fund, Paradigm Portfolio and your investment.

» Stock Market Risks: Stock mutual funds are subject to stock market risks and significant fluctuations in value.  If the stock market declines in value, the Paradigm Portfolio, and therefore the Paradigm Fund, is likely to decline in value and you could lose money on your investment.

» Stock Selection Risks: The portfolio securities selected by the Investment Adviser may decline in value or not increase in value when the stock market in general is rising and may fail to meet the Paradigm Portfolio’s, and therefore the Paradigm Fund’s, investment objective.

» Liquidity Risks: The Investment Adviser may not be able to sell portfolio securities at an optimal time or price.

» Small and Medium-Size Company Risks: The Paradigm Portfolio may invest in the equity securities of small and medium-size companies.  Small and medium-size companies often have narrower markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than do larger, more established companies.  As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face a greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of the Paradigm Portfolio’s assets.

» Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) Risks: ETFs are registered investment companies whose shares are listed and traded on U.S. stock exchanges or otherwise traded in the over-the-counter market. In general, passively-managed ETFs seek to track a specified securities index or a basket of securities that an “index provider,” such as Standard & Poor’s, selects as representative of a market, market segment or industry sector.  A passively-managed ETF is designed so that its performance will correspond closely with that of the index it tracks.  A leveraged ETF will engage in transactions and purchase instruments that give rise to forms of leverage, including, among others, the use of reverse repurchase agreements and other borrowings, the investment of collateral from loans of portfolio securities, the use of when issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment transactions or short sales.  To the extent a fund invests in ETFs that achieve leveraged exposure to their underlying indexes through the use of derivative instruments, the fund will indirectly be subject to leveraging risk.  As a shareholder in an ETF, the Paradigm Portfolio will bear its pro rata portion of an ETF’s expenses, including advisory fees, in addition to its own expenses.

»
Foreign Securities Risks: The Paradigm Portfolio may invest in foreign securities directly or through ADRs, GDRs and IDRs.  Foreign securities can carry higher returns but involve more risks than those associated with U.S. investments.  Additional risks associated with investment in foreign securities include currency fluctuations, political and economic instability, differences in financial reporting standards and less stringent regulation of securities markets.

» Emerging Markets Risks: The risks of foreign investments are usually much greater for the emerging markets. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative.

» Non-Diversification Risks: As a non-diversified investment company, the Paradigm Portfolio can invest a large percentage of its assets in a small number of issuers.  As a result, a change in the value of any one investment may affect the overall value of the Paradigm Portfolio’s shares, and therefore the Paradigm Fund’s shares, more than shares of a diversified mutual fund that holds more investments.

» Interest Rate Risk: The risk that when interest rates increase, fixed-income securities held by the Paradigm Portfolio will decline in value.  Long-term fixed-income securities will normally have more price volatility because of this risk than short-term fixed-income securities.  It is likely there will be less governmental action in the near future to maintain low interest rates.  The negative impact on fixed income securities from the resulting rate increases for that and other reasons could be swift and significant.

» Leveraging Risks: Investments in derivative instruments may give rise to a form of leverage. The Investment Adviser may engage in speculative transactions, which involve substantial risk and leverage. The use of leverage by the Investment Adviser may increase the volatility of the Paradigm Portfolio. These leveraged instruments may result in losses to the Paradigm Portfolio or may adversely affect the Paradigm Portfolio’s NAV or total return, because instruments that contain leverage are more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The Paradigm Portfolio may also have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its obligations in connection with such transactions.

»
Option Transaction Risks: Purchasing and writing put and call options are highly specialized activities and entail greater than ordinary investment risks.  The successful use of options depends in part on the ability of the Investment Adviser to manage future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets.  By writing put options on equity securities, the Paradigm Portfolio gives up the opportunity to benefit from potential increases in the value of the common stocks above the strike prices of the written put options, but continues to bear the risk of declines in the value of its common stock portfolio.  The Paradigm Portfolio will receive a premium from writing a covered call option that it retains whether or not the option is exercised.  The premium received from the written options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from the volatility of the underlying equity securities over time.

» Convertible Securities Risks: Convertible securities are subject to the risks affecting both equity and fixed income securities, including market, credit, liquidity and interest rate risk.

» Below Investment Grade Debt Securities Risks: Generally, below investment grade debt securities, i.e., junk bonds, are subject to greater credit risk, price volatility and risk of loss than investment grade securities. Junk bonds are considered to be speculative in nature.

» Management Risks: There is no guarantee that the Paradigm Fund will meet its investment objective. The Investment Adviser does not guarantee the performance of the Paradigm Fund, nor can it assure you that the market value of your investment will not decline.

Who may want to invest?

The Paradigm Fund may be appropriate for investors who:

» wish to invest for the long-term;

» want to diversify their portfolios;

» want to allocate some portion of their long-term investments to equity investing;

» are willing to accept the volatility associated with equity investing; and

» are comfortable with the risks described herein.
Performance
The bar chart and table shown below illustrate the variability of the Paradigm Fund’s returns. The bar chart indicates the risks of investing in the Paradigm Fund by showing the changes in the Paradigm Fund’s performance from year to year (on a calendar year basis).  The table shows how the Paradigm Fund’s average annual returns, before and after taxes, compare with those of the S&P 500® Index and the MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) Index (MSCI ACWI Index), which represent broad measures of market performance.  The past performance of the Paradigm Fund, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Paradigm Fund or the Paradigm Portfolio will perform in the future.  Updated performance information is available on the Funds website at http://www.kineticsfunds.com/ or by calling the Fund toll-free at (800) 930-3828.
The Paradigm Fund – Institutional Class Calendar Year Returns as of 12/31
Bar Chart
Best Quarter:
2009
Q2
32.23%
Worst Quarter:
2008
Q4
-29.03%
Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/2016
The Paradigm Fund’s after-tax returns as shown in the following table are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.  Your actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown.  If you own Fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”), the information on after-tax returns is not relevant to your investment.  The Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures when a capital loss occurs upon the redemption of Fund shares.
Average Annual Returns - Institutional Class Prospectus - Kinetics Paradigm Fund
Label
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years
Average Annual Returns, Since Inception
Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
Institutional Class The Paradigm Fund (KNPYX) Institutional Return Before Taxes 20.73% 14.19% 4.66% 7.31% May 27, 2005
After Taxes on Distributions | Institutional Class The Paradigm Fund (KNPYX) Institutional Return After Taxes on Distributions 20.73% 14.12% 4.55% 7.20%  
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Institutional Class The Paradigm Fund (KNPYX) Institutional Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 11.74% 11.42% 3.72% 6.01%  
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) S&P 500® Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) 11.96% 14.66% 6.95% 7.79% May 27, 2005
MSCI ACWI Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) MSCI ACWI Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) 7.86% 9.36% 3.56% 5.77% May 27, 2005