XML 44 R64.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.3.0.814
Label Element Value
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName BRIDGEWAY FUNDS INC
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Oct. 31, 2015
Managed Volatility Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading FUND SUMMARY: MANAGED VOLATILITY FUND
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective:
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Managed Volatility Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide a high current return with short-term risk less than or equal to 40% of the stock market.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses of the Fund:
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees (paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover:
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The Fund 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 Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 38% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 38.00%
Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text] rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement) do not correlate to the expense ratio in the Financial Highlights, which reflects operating expenses of the Fund and does not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example:
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock 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:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies:
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock To achieve the objective of providing a high current return with less short-term risk than the stock market, the Fund uses multiple techniques: purchasing or selling stocks, options, futures, and fixed-income securities. Together, these strategies are designed to provide the Fund with more stable returns over a wide range of fixed-income and equity market environments. Up to 75% of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in common stocks and options on any size companies on which options are traded on a national securities exchange. At all times, at least 25% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in equities. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in foreign securities. For purposes of the Fund’s investments, “foreign securities” means those securities issued by companies: (i) that are domiciled in a country other than the U.S.; and (ii) that derive 50% or more of their total revenue from activities outside of the U.S.

The Adviser selects stocks for the Fund using a statistically driven approach that spans various investment styles including both “growth” and “value.” The Adviser may also select stocks and options according to a more passive strategy, including investing in stock market index futures and options. The Fund may also purchase or sell any financial (but not commodity) futures, puts, or calls within the scope of its investment objective and strategy. Specifically, the Fund may short stock index futures to hedge a similar basket of stocks and sell covered call or secured put options to reduce the risk of stock ownership. These instruments can be used to hedge cash, manage market risk, dampen volatility in line with its investment objective, arbitrage the difference between stocks and futures and create synthetic option positions.

With respect to fixed income investments, the Adviser normally invests at least 25% of the Fund’s total assets in fixed-income securities: U.S. government obligations, mortgage and asset-backed securities, corporate bonds, collateralized mortgage obligations, and/or other fixed-income instruments. In addition, the Fund’s strategy with respect to credit rating may vary over time. The Adviser anticipates that fixed-income investments will largely be limited to U.S. government securities and high quality corporate debt.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks:
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock The Fund’s stock holdings are subject to market risk. The protective qualities inherent in option writing are partial. In addition, the Adviser may not always write options on the full number of shares of stock it owns, thus exposing the Fund to the full market risk of these shares. Therefore, shareholders of this Fund are exposed to risk and could lose money.

The Fund invests in companies of any size for which exchange-traded options are available. Small companies are more vulnerable to financial and other risks than large companies.

The Fund’s fixed-income holdings are subject to three types of risk: interest rate risk, credit risk and prepayment risk.

The Fund’s use of futures to manage risk or hedge market volatility may not always be successful hedges, their prices can be highly volatile, they may not always successfully manage risk and they could lower the Fund’s total return. The Fund’s investments in stock index futures are subject to the risk that the returns of the basket of stocks to which they are hedged are reduced by losses on the futures in a rising market.

A covered call position will result in a loss on its expiration date if the underlying stock price has fallen since the purchase by an amount greater than the price for which the option was sold. Thus, the Fund’s option strategies may not fully protect it against declines in the value of its stocks. In addition, the option writing strategy limits the upside profit potential normally associated with stocks. In addition, the Fund’s investments in covered call and put options are subject to the risk that they may not provide sufficient protection to compensate for a decline in the underlying stock.

Investments in foreign securities can be more volatile than investments in U.S. securities.

The Fund could experience a loss in the stock, option, and fixed-income portions of its holdings at the same time.

The Adviser uses statistical analyses and models to select investments for the Fund. Any imperfections, errors or limitations in the models or analyses and therefore any decisions made in reliance on such models or analyses could expose the Fund to potential risks. In addition, the models used by the Adviser assume that certain historical statistical relationships will continue. These models are constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties and, as a result, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney Therefore, shareholders of this Fund are exposed to risk and could lose money.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance:
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risk of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s performance has varied on a calendar year basis. The table shows how the Fund’s average annual returns for various periods compare with the S&P 500® Index, which is an unmanaged, market value weighted index that measures the performance of 500 large companies and is considered a broad measure of market performance. In addition, the Fund’s performance is compared to the Bloomberg/EFFAS U.S. Government 1-3 Year Total Return Bond Index, a transparent benchmark for the total return of the one- to three-year U.S. Government bond market. This information is based on past performance. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not guarantee future results. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.bridgeway.com or by calling 800-661-3550.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risk of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s performance has varied on a calendar year basis. The table shows how the Fund’s average annual returns for various periods compare with the S&P 500® Index, which is an unmanaged, market value weighted index that measures the performance of 500 large companies and is considered a broad measure of market performance.
Performance Additional Market Index [Text] rr_PerformanceAdditionalMarketIndex In addition, the Fund’s performance is compared to the Bloomberg/EFFAS U.S. Government 1-3 Year Total Return Bond Index, a transparent benchmark for the total return of the one- to three-year U.S. Government bond market.
Performance Availability Phone [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone 800-661-3550
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.bridgeway.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Past performance (before and after taxes) does not guarantee future results.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Managed Volatility Fund
Year by Year % Returns as of 12/31 of Each Year
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
Return from 1/1/15 through 9/30/15 was -2.93%.
                 
       Quarter      Total
Return 		 
Best Quarter:
     Q4 11         8.98%   
Worst Quarter:
     Q4 08         -9.19%   
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns (For the periods ended 12/31/14)
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate 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.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred 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 plans.
Managed Volatility Fund | Class N  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Redemption Fees rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption none
Exchange Fees rr_ExchangeFeeOverRedemption none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.60%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.44%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.01% [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.05%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.10%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement) rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.95% [3]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 97
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 303
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 525
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,166
2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 6.96%
2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 6.65%
2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 6.58%
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (19.38%)
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 12.39%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 5.41%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 1.94%
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 6.46%
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 9.25%
2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 5.95%
Year to Date Return, Label rr_YearToDateReturnLabel Return from 1/1/15 through 9/30/15
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return, Date rr_BarChartYearToDateReturnDate Sep. 30, 2015
Bar Chart, Year to Date Return rr_BarChartYearToDateReturn (2.93%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter:
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2011
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 8.98%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter:
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (9.19%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 5.95%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 5.78%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 3.85%
Managed Volatility Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions | Class N  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 5.92% [4]
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 5.69% [4]
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 3.38% [4]
Managed Volatility Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Class N  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 3.39% [4]
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 4.52% [4]
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.93% [4]
Managed Volatility Fund | S&P 500® Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.69%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.45%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.67%
Managed Volatility Fund | Bloomberg/EFFAS U.S. Government 1-3 Year Total Return Bond Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 0.64%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.14%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.58%
[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are expenses incurred by the Fund through its ownership of shares in other investment companies, including business development companies.
[2] Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc. (the "Adviser"), the investment adviser to the Fund, pursuant to its Management Agreement with Bridgeway Funds, Inc. ("Bridgeway Funds"), is contractually obligated to waive fees and/or pay Fund expenses, if necessary, to ensure that net expenses do not exceed 0.94%. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not included in the 0.94% expense limitation. The expense limitation cannot be changed or eliminated without shareholder approval.
[3] Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement) do not correlate to the expense ratio in the Financial Highlights, which reflects operating expenses of the Fund and does not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.
[4] 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. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. 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 plans.