The Gabelli Utilities Fund
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS September 1, 2022
Class AAA (GABUX), A (GAUAX), C (GUXPX), I (GAUIX)
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), which contain more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus and SAI and other information about the Fund online at www.gabelli.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-422-3554 or by sending an email request to info@gabelli.com. The Fund’s Prospectus and SAI, both dated September 1, 2022, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
As permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s annual and semiannual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Fund’s website (https://gabelli.com/), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report. If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. To elect to receive all future reports on paper free of charge, please contact your financial intermediary, or, if you invest directly with the Fund, you may call 800-422-3554 or send an email request to info@gabelli.com. Your election to receive reports on paper will apply to all funds held in your account if you invest through your financial intermediary or all funds held within the fund complex if you invest directly with the Fund.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved the shares described in this prospectus or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide a high level of total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund:
Effective August 31, 2022 (the “Effective Date”), The Gabelli Utilities Fund’s Class C1 shares are “closed to all purchases from new investors.” “Closed to purchases from new investors” means neither new investors nor existing shareholders may purchase any additional Class C1 shares after the Effective Date. These changes have no effect on existing shareholders’ ability to redeem shares of The Gabelli Utilities Fund as described herein. Class C1 shares are not offered for sale after the Effective Date and all references to Class C1 shares in this prospectus are used solely for supplemental disclosure purposes, where relevant.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts on Class A shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Class A shares of the Gabelli family of mutual funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and in the section entitled “Classes of Shares” on page 17 of the prospectus and in Appendix A, “Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available through Certain Intermediaries,” attached to the Fund’s prospectus.
| Class AAA Shares |
Class A Shares |
Class C Shares |
Class I Shares | |||||||||||||||||
| Shareholder Fees |
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| (fees paid directly from your investment): |
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| Maximum Sales Charge (Load) on Purchases |
None | 5.75% | None | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of redemption or offering price, whichever is lower) |
None | None | 1.00% | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends (as percentage of amount invested) |
None | None | None | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed for shares held 7 days or less) |
2.00% | 2.00% | 2.00% | 2.00% | ||||||||||||||||
| Exchange Fee |
None | None | None | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
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| (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment): |
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| Management Fees |
1.00% | 1.00% | 1.00% | 1.00% | ||||||||||||||||
| Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees |
0.25% | 0.25% | 1.00% | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Other Expenses |
0.11% | 0.11% | 0.11% | 0.11% | ||||||||||||||||
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| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.36% | 1.36% | 2.11% | 1.11% | ||||||||||||||||
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Expense 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:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||||||||
| Class AAA Shares |
$ | 138 | $ | 431 | $ | 745 | $ | 1,635 | ||||||||||||
| Class A Shares |
$ | 706 | $ | 981 | $ | 1,277 | $ | 2,116 | ||||||||||||
| Class C Shares |
$ | 314 | $ | 661 | $ | 1,134 | $ | 2,441 | ||||||||||||
| Class I Shares |
$ | 113 | $ | 353 | $ | 612 | $ | 1,352 | ||||||||||||
You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares of the Fund:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||||||||
| Class AAA Shares |
$ | 138 | $ | 431 | $ | 745 | $ | 1,635 | ||||||||||||
| Class A Shares |
$ | 706 | $ | 981 | $ | 1,277 | $ | 2,116 | ||||||||||||
| Class C Shares |
$ | 214 | $ | 661 | $ | 1,134 | $ | 2,441 | ||||||||||||
| Class I Shares |
$ | 113 | $ | 353 | $ | 612 | $ | 1,352 | ||||||||||||
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 rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in lower total returns when the Fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the 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 3% of the average value of its portfolio.
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Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of domestic or foreign companies that are involved to a substantial extent in providing products, services or equipment for the generation or distribution of electricity, gas, and water and the provision of infrastructure operations or telecommunications services, such as telephone, telegraph, satellite, cable, microwave, radiotelephone, mobile communication and cellular, paging, electronic mail, videotext, voice communications, data communications, and internet and that derive at least 50% of their revenue or earnings from, or devote at least 50% of their assets to, utilities (each, a “Utility Company” and collectively, “Utility Companies”) that the Fund’s investment adviser, Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”), believes have the potential to provide either capital appreciation or current income. The Adviser emphasizes quality in selecting utility investments, and looks for companies that have proven dividend records and sound financial structures. Generally, Utility Companies generate relatively predictable streams of revenue and income, and in the view of the Adviser, are likely to pay dividends. For additional information about selection of investments suitable for the Fund, see page 9 of the prospectus.
In selecting investments, the Adviser will consider factors such as: (i) the market price of the issuer’s common stock, earnings expectations, earnings and price histories, balance sheet characteristics, perceived management skills, and the conditions affecting the industry in which the issuer practices; (ii) the level of interest rates, local and national government regulations, the price and availability of materials used in the particular utility, environmental protection or energy conservation regulations, the level of demand for services, and the risks associated with constructing and operating certain kinds of facilities such as nuclear power facilities; (iii) the potential for capital appreciation of the stock; (iv) the dividend income generated by the stock; (v) the prices of the stock relative to other comparable stocks; and (vi) the diversification of the portfolio of the Fund as to issuers. The Adviser will also consider changes in economic and political outlooks as well as individual corporate developments. The Adviser will sell any Fund investments that lose their perceived value relative to other investments in the judgment of the portfolio management team.
The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in a broad range of readily marketable dividend paying common stocks in the utilities industry. Although many of these common stocks will pay above average dividends, the Fund will buy stock of those companies whose securities have the potential for their prices to increase, providing either capital appreciation or current income for the Fund. The Fund may also invest in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”).
The Fund may invest up to 40% of its total assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers, including in emerging markets.
Principal Risks
You may want to invest in the Fund if:
| • | you are a long term investor |
| • | you seek growth of capital as well as current income |
| • | you wish to include an income strategy as a portion of your overall investments |
| • | you believe that the utilities industry can generate growth of capital |
The Fund’s share price will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Stocks are subject to market, economic, and business risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate. Holders of common stocks only have rights to the value in the company after all debts have been paid, and they could lose their entire investment in a company that encounters financial difficulty. The Fund is also subject to the following risks: that its portfolio companies will reduce or eliminate the dividend rate on the securities held by the Fund, that no event occurs to surface the value expected by the Adviser, or that regulatory actions adversely affect the Fund’s portfolio securities. As a consequence of its policy of concentrating in the utility industry, the Fund’s investments may be subject to greater risk and market fluctuation than a fund that has securities representing a broader range of alternatives. Foreign securities are subject to currency, information, and political risks.
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell Fund shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them; you may lose money by investing in the Fund.
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The principal risks presented by the Fund are:
| • | Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the prices of the securities held by the Fund will change due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the companies issuing the securities participate, and the issuer companies’ particular circumstances. |
| • | Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. Recently, inflation rates have risen to the highest levels seen in many decades. As inflation increases, the real value of the Fund’s shares and distributions therefore may decline. Inflation may result in losses to Fund shareholders. |
| • | Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and Global Health Events. COVID-19 and concerns about its rapid spread and infections have severely impacted business activity in virtually all economies, markets, and sectors and negatively impacted the value of many financial and other assets. The duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and its effects cannot be determined with certainty. These events could have a significant impact on the Fund’s performance, as well as the performance and viability of issuers in which it invests. |
| • | Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in foreign securities involve risks relating to political, social, and economic developments abroad, as well as risks resulting from the differences between the regulations to which U.S. and foreign issuers and markets are subject. These risks include expropriation, differing accounting and disclosure standards, currency exchange risks, settlement difficulties, market illiquidity, difficulties enforcing legal rights, and greater transaction costs. These risks are more pronounced in the securities of companies located in emerging markets. |
| • | Industry Risk. The Fund’s investments in Utility Companies may be more susceptible to various factors, including government regulation, increases in operating expenses, high interest costs, higher inflation, industry overcapacity, or reduced demand for services or price volatility, including as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. |
| • | Interest Rate Risk. Investments in dividend paying securities involve interest rate risk. When interest rates decline, the value of such securities generally rises. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of such securities generally declines. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low interest rates and recent inflationary price movements. Interest rates have begun to rise in response to these inflationary price movements and there is a possibility that interest rates will continue to rise in the future. |
| • | Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that directly relate to an issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. |
| • | Management Risk. If the portfolio managers are incorrect in their assessment of the growth prospects of the securities the Fund holds, then the value of the Fund’s shares may decline. |
| • | Master Limited Partnerships Risk. Investments in MLPs subjects the Fund to risks associated with the specific industry or industries in which the MLPs invest. MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments. During periods of interest rate volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns. |
| • | Regulatory Risk. The Fund’s investments in Utility Companies may lose value because of changes in the amounts and types of governmental and environmental regulation. |
| • | “Return of Capital” Risk. The Fund’s distributions may represent a non-taxable return of capital. A return of capital distribution is a distribution in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits. A return of capital distribution is tax-free to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in its Fund shares and reduces the shareholder’s basis to that extent. A distribution consisting of return of capital should not be considered as the dividend yield or total return of an investment. Shareholders who receive the payment of a distribution consisting of a return of capital may be under the impression that they are receiving net profits when they are not. |
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Performance
The bar chart and table that follow provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year, and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for one year, five years, and ten years compared with those of a broad based securities market index and with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives. As with all mutual funds, the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not predict how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated information on the Fund’s results can be obtained by visiting www.gabelli.com.
THE GABELLI UTILITIES FUND
(Total Returns for Class AAA Shares for the Years Ended December 31)
During the calendar years shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 11.32% (quarter ended March 31, 2016), and the lowest return for a quarter was (16.79)% (quarter ended March 31, 2021).
| Average Annual Total
Returns |
Past One Year |
Past Five Years |
Past Ten Years |
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| The Gabelli Utilities Fund Class AAA Shares |
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| Return Before Taxes |
17.49 | % | 7.51 | % | 7.72 | % | ||||||
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
16.66 | % | 6.92 | % | 6.92 | % | ||||||
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
10.86 | % | 5.80 | % | 6.09 | % | ||||||
| Class A Shares |
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| Return Before Taxes |
10.61 | % | 6.22 | % | 7.07 | % | ||||||
| Class C Shares (first issued on September 1, 2022) |
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| Return Before Taxes |
15.32 | % | 6.67 | % | 6.90 | % | ||||||
| Class I Shares |
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| Return Before Taxes |
17.66 | % | 7.75 | % | 7.98 | % | ||||||
| Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Utilities Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
17.67 | % | 11.76 | % | 11.06 | % | ||||||
| Lipper Utility Fund Average |
15.37 | % | 10.02 | % | 9.73 | % | ||||||
Returns shown for Class C shares prior to their first issuance date on September 1, 2022 are those of the Fund’s Class C1 shares. Class C and Class C1 shares would have substantially similar annual returns because the shares of each Class are invested in the same portfolio and have similar expense structures. Annual returns would differ only to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses.
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 the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. In some instances, the “Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares” may be greater than the “Return After Taxes on Distributions” because the investor is assumed to be able to use the capital loss from the sale of Fund shares to offset other taxable gains. 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
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retirement accounts, including Roth IRAs and SEP IRAs (collectively, “IRAs”). After-tax returns are shown only for Class AAA shares and after-tax returns for other classes will vary due to the differences in expenses.
Management
The Adviser. Gabelli Funds, LLC
The Portfolio Managers. Mr. Mario J. Gabelli, CFA, Chief Investment Officer — Value Portfolios of the Adviser, has served as portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception on August 31, 1999. Mr. Timothy M. Winter, CFA, has served as an associate portfolio manager of the Fund since May 2018. Messrs. Justin Bergner and Brett Kearney have served as associate portfolio managers of the Fund since July 1, 2021.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Effective August 31, 2022, The Gabelli Utilities Fund’s Class C1 shares have been “closed to all purchases from new investors” as described above. Class C1 shares are not offered for sale after the Effective Date and all references to Class C1 shares in this prospectus are used solely for supplemental disclosure purposes, where relevant.
The minimum initial investment for Class AAA, Class A, and Class C shares is $1,000 ($250 for IRAs or Coverdell Education Savings Plans). There is no minimum initial investment for Class AAA, Class A, and Class C shares in an automatic monthly investment plan. Class I shares are available to investors with a minimum investment of $50,000 when purchasing the shares directly through G.distributors, LLC, the Fund’s distributor (“G.distributors” or the “Distributor”), or investors purchasing Class I shares through brokers or financial intermediaries that have entered into selling agreements with the Distributor specifically with respect to Class I shares, and which have different minimum investment amounts. If you transact in Class I shares through a broker or financial intermediary, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker or financial intermediary. The Distributor reserves the right to waive or change minimum investment amounts. There is no minimum for subsequent investments.
You can purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading (a “Business Day”). You may purchase or redeem Fund shares by written request via mail (The Gabelli Funds, P.O. Box 219204, Kansas City, MO 64121-9204), personal or overnight delivery (The Gabelli Funds, c/o DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc., 430 W 7th Street, STE 219204, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407), Internet, bank wire, or Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) system. You may also purchase Fund shares by telephone at 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554), if you have an existing account with banking instructions on file.
Fund shares can also be purchased or sold through registered broker-dealers or financial intermediaries that have entered into appropriate selling agreements with the Distributor. The broker-dealer or other financial intermediary will transmit these transaction orders to the Fund on your behalf and send you confirmation of your transactions and periodic account statements showing your investments in the Fund.
Tax Information
The Fund expects that distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income or long term capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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470 multi 2022
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